Gladstone's Land

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gladstone's Land
Golden figure of a Gled ( Scots Red Kite or Hawk ) above the entrance to Gladstone's Land

Gladstone's Land is one of Edinburgh's oldest townhouses and dates back to a 16th century building bought in 1617 by Thomas Gledstanes and his wife, who had it extended. It has been listed in the highest category A on the Scottish List of Monuments by Historic Environment Scotland and is owned by the National Trust for Scotland .

description

Gladstone's Land is a townhouse in central Edinburgh, at 481 and 483 Lawnmarket on the Royal Mile . It was bought by Thomas Gledstanes and his wife Bessie Cunningham in 1617, and their initials “TC”, “BC” and their trade mark (a St. Andrew's cross on a trunk) are carved on a stone in the knee stick . Based on a building from the 16th century, they had it expanded, the front of the house was completed in 1621 and consists of gray stone blocks. It is a narrow five-story building with an L-shaped floor plan. The right wing is from the 16th century, with additions from the 18th century. Further modifications and extensions in the 19th century. Restorations: 1934–36 based on designs by Frank C. Mears and 1979–80 by Robert Hurd and Partners. The top floor is designed as a paired dormer, the ground floor with 2 round arches and round pillars designed as an open arcade with a paved forecourt and an outside staircase with iron railing on the left. The outside staircase leads to the first floor. The cellar has three bays . The golden figure of a Gled ( Scots red kite or falcon ) hovers above the entrance .

The rear front dates from the 16th century. It contains older elements and is plastered with gray Harl ,

  • Eastern view: Small windows to illuminate the staircase, the staircase has an asymmetrical gable. A two-storey, plastered timber extension. The third and fourth floors have a two-bay beam ceiling, the paired dormers on the fourth floor extend into the roof above.
  • Northern view: Covered stairs on the left, which lead to a wood-paneled door with a small window and a large canopy. Remains of earlier buildings are visible.
  • western view: two bay windows with identical windows. A wider chimney crowning the wall.

story

The history of Gladstone's Land dates back to 1501. In 1617 it was bought by the merchant couple Thomas Gledstanes and Bessie Cunningham and expanded in the following years. The Gledstanes lived on the upper floors and rented the lower floors. The trader John Riddoch and his wife Margaret Nobill had a tavern on the ground floor, and a shop on the first floor selling everyday necessities such as raisins, spices, sweets, starch, clay pipes, but also more exotic things and goods from the Caribbean, India , China and Southeast Asia sold. Riddoch died in 1632 and the business was taken over by an Andrew Pringle. Riddoch's will also mentions a woman named Issobel Johnstone with a sum of £ 122 , an enormous sum at the time. She was a sub-tenant of the tavern he had leased on the first floor. It was by this mention that historians became aware of a number of such women, and that this was no exception. Women like Issobel Johnstone ran independently and on their own account.

From 1626 to 1633 William Struthers lived in the house, Minister of St Giles' Cathedral , which is about 100 meters to the east. He was involved in a notorious witch trial against Marion Mure in 1632.

In 1636, along with Gledstanes, the merchant David Jonkin co-owned Gladstone's land. Jonkins became known when he aided the Scottish Covenant in 1639 by selling firearms to Archibald Campbell and buying a warship in Holland.

From 1630 to 1635 James Crichton, Laird of Frendraught lived in Gladstone's Land. He had recently fled from his castle, Frendraught House in Aberdeenshire , where several men died in a fire under mysterious circumstances and he was suspected in this connection. He asked the Privy Council of Scotland (an advisory body to the King, then Charles I ) to investigate this matter.

At the end of the 17th century, a merchant named John Sumervaill lived in Gladstone's Land. He was involved in the disastrously unsuccessful Darién project that almost ruined Scotland. The Darién Project was an attempt to establish a Scottish colony in what is now Panama to build a canal through the isthmus. The project was only realized several centuries later with the Panama Canal .

There is also evidence that prostitutes offered their services in Gladstone's Land.

In the 18th century the house continued to be used as a commercial building, known as Elizabeth Pillans and her husband William Dawson, who ran a fine clothing shop. At the end of the 18th century, the Old Town lost its noble status, less noble residents moved in, and the upper class moved to the New Town. The house fell into disrepair and was a candidate for demolition in 1934, but was then donated to the National Trust for Scotland by Helen Roberts Harrison and with designs by the architect Sir Frank Mears and in collaboration with the Ancient Monuments Department of the Ministry of Works in Edinburgh and in 1978 –80 restored by Robert Hurd and Partners. After the restoration , the ground floor and the two lower floors were open to the public.

Gladstone's Land in the 21st Century

From 2020 to 2021 the house underwent a further renovation for a sum of £ 1.4million. In the course of this work, painted ceilings (ceiling and wall drawings), which were painted around 1620, were exposed. The beams of the ceilings are made of oak , while the decking boards are made of pine , which was very likely supplied from Sweden or Scandinavia. Ian Campbell details in a blog what colors and other materials were used for such wood paintings in the 17th century and what they cost.

The house has been reopened on May 21, 2021. There is now an ice cream parlor and shop on the ground floor. On the 1st to 3rd floors there is a museum in which trade and life from the past 500 years are shown. The first floor shows a reconstruction of the furnishings of the merchant John Riddoch from the 17th century, which was made according to the information in his will . A room is a replica of its warehouse with spices . These spices have also been used as a possible cure for the plague . On the second floor you can visit a silk, lace and printed cotton shop and a late 18th-century drapery, which was reconstructed from the records of the trading company Dawson's Cotton & Wool Sales. The third floor will be open to the public for the first time after the restoration in 2019-2021. It shows the premises as they looked in the early 20th century, including a room that a widow named Mary Wilson advertised as "an apartment for two or three respectable men" in a newspaper advertisement. There are holiday apartments on the 4th and 5th floors. In addition to these “static” exhibitions, there are also programs that bring the past 500 years to life with all your senses. With a program developed by Clara Weale, you can also experience with your nose how it smelled in buildings like Gladstone's Land Has. A selection of eight exhibits that are particularly worth highlighting can be viewed on the Internet.

See also

Web links

Commons : Gladstone's Land  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Daniel T. Rhodes, Nicholas Uglow, Tom Addyman: Gladstone's Land: the changing face of Edinburgh's Royal Mile . In: Post-Medieval Archeology . tape 51 , no. 2 , 2017, p. 354-371 , doi : 10.1080 / 00794236.2017.1377978 .
  2. ↑ a b c d 481 AND 483 LAWNMARKET, GLADSTONE'S LAND on the Historic Environment Scotland website , accessed August 29, 2021
  3. ↑ Gladstone's Land on the National Trust for Scotland website , accessed August 29, 2021
  4. ↑ Gladstone's Land cutting plans on CANMORE accessed on September 1, 2021
  5. ↑ a b c d e Susan Flockhart: Centuries of secrets . In: National Trust for Scotland Member Magazine . 2021, ISSN  2631-3170 , p. 38-42 (Spring Issue).
  6. ^ Testaments of John Riddoch, National Records of Scotland CC8 / 8/56, pp. 223-4, accessed August 31, 2021
  7. ↑ The invisible taverner: the hidden history of Issobel Johnstone - Gladstone's Land Retrieved on September 1, 2021
  8. ^ Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database, Trial process details / Case details , accessed August 31, 2021
  9. ^ David Stevenson, The Scottish Revolution, 1637-1644 (David & Charles: Newton Abbot, 1973), p. 128
  10. ↑ Gladstone's Land and the Murder Allegation Report of the NTS, October 29, 2021, accessed September 1, 2021
  11. ^ A vision of New Caledonia at Gladstone's Land, accessed September 1, 2021
  12. ↑ Sex and scandal at Gladstone's Land NTS report, September 25, 2021, accessed September 1, 2021
  13. ↑ Helen Roberts Harrison at womenofscotland.org.uk, accessed September 13, 2021
  14. ↑ Fresh flavor for historic Royal Mile building accessed on September 1, 2021
  15. ↑ a b The Great Eight at Gladstone's Land Report of the NTS dated June 29, 2021, accessed September 1, 2021
  16. ↑ Collection of images related to Gladstone's Land on CANMORE, accessed September 1, 2021
  17. ↑ a b Painters, makers and materials in early modern Scotland Blog by Ian Campbell, December 27, 2017, accessed September 1, 2021
  18. ↑ Gladstone's Land reopens for a taste of the past report of the NTS for the reopening of Gladstone's Land, accessed on September 1, 2021
  19. ↑ Ice cream Parlor accessed August 31, 2021
  20. ↑ Description of the museum accessed on August 31, 2021
  21. ^ A Gladstone's Land plague remedy, accessed September 1, 2021
  22. ↑ Much loved Gladstone's Land reopens - 500 years old and still one of our favorite places Katrina Tweedie on edinburghlive.co.uk June 7, 2021, accessed September 1, 2021
  23. ↑ Description of the holiday apartments accessed on August 31, 2021
  24. ↑ Scent at Gladstone's Land Report from the NTS, October 2, 2020, accessed September 1, 2021
  25. ↑ Experiencing Collections at Gladstone's Land NTS report, November 27, 2019, accessed September 1, 2021

Coordinates: 55 ° 56 '58.6 "  N , 3 ° 11' 37.4"  W.