E-gift vouchers for your loved ones. 8 Apr 2025, 3:10 pm

If you are looking for something different to get your loved ones why not opt for an e-gift voucher for our tours of Edinburgh’s Vaults. Our vouchers do not have a time limit on them and whoever you gift them to can book online for a date and time of their choice.

E-gift vouchers can be purchased here.

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Auld Reekie Tours Wins Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award 2024 27 Jun 2024, 9:55 am

Auld Reekie Tours Recognized as a Traveler-Favorite  Guided Walking Tour Company.

27^th June, 2024 – Auld Reekie Tours is pleased to announce today that it has been recognized in Tripadivsor’s® Travelers’ Choice® Awards for 2024. The award honours businesses that consistently earn great reviews, placing them among the top 10% of listings around the world on Tripadvisor. 

As the world’s largest travel guidance platform, Tripadvisor has unparalleled authority with travelers and diners. This award is based on genuine feedback from anyone in the community who has visited and left an authentic, first-hand review on Tripadvisor over a 12-month period, making it a valuable and trustworthy designation of great places to visit. 

“Congratulations to Auld Reekie Tours on its recognition in Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards for 2024,” said John Boris, Chief Growth Officer at Tripadvisor. “Travelers’ Choice honors businesses that consistently demonstrate a commitment to hospitality excellence. This means you have made such a memorable impact on your visitors that many of them took the time to go online and leave a great review about their experience. People rely on Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice seal to help them navigate the myriad of things to see, eat and do across the globe. We hope this recognition continues to drive business to you in 2024 and beyond.” 

Check out all the reviews and discover more about Auld Reekie Tours here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g186525-d213398-Reviews-Auld_Reekie_Tours-Edinburgh_Scotland.html

About Auld Reekie Tours

Auld Reekie Tours is located in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We are unique in offering tours through Edinburgh’s most extensive set of vaults. Apart from lighting and handrails for safety, our vaults have remained unchanged since the 1700s. And we’re the only ghost and history tour company in Edinburgh with genuine links to witchcraft. We provide tours to visitors seeking a dramatic and truly memorable experience.

Auld Reekie Tours started in 1995. Since then, we have been offering a wide range of underground and graveyard tours to visitors from around the world.

About Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform*, helps millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 1 billion reviews and contributions, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby.

Tripadvisor LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP). The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps, including the following:

www.bokun.io, www.cruisecritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com, www.helloreco.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.seatguru.com, www.viator.com.

*  Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, September 2023

** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files

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December is the best month to book a ghost tour 12 Dec 2022, 12:19 pm

Wandering the vaults of Edinburgh’s South Bridge may not seem like the most festive activity to sample at “the most wonderful time of the year”. However, gathering around a storyteller to listen to tales of hauntings and lost souls is actually a very traditional way to celebrate Yuletide.  

What is Yule?

The word “Yule”, aside from being another word for “Christmas”, comes from the name of a 12-day festival celebrated by Germanic peoples thousands of years ago. It began on the 21st of December, the Winter Solstice. As the shortest day of the year, this was supposed to be when wayward spirits were most likely to be found roaming among the living.

This is similar to the belief held by the ancient Celts that the ghosts of their ancestors could cross into the mortal world on Samhuinn, which was celebrated just a few weeks before the Germanic pagan festival of Yule.

Fear for our mortal souls, combined with our natural instinct to gather together during the long and bitter winter nights, created the perfect recipe for spooky storytelling sessions. Add to this mixture the arrival of Christianity and these stories took on an even more frightening flare, especially in places like Scandinavia, Medieval Britain and Iceland. 

Christmas in Scotland 

Most of the other traditions that we associate with Christmas come from early pagan celebrations of winter too. The Early Modern Scots enjoyed the festive season with feasting, fun and revelry – just like their ancestors did, and just like we do today. That is until the Scottish Reformation of 1560 happened and John Knox slammed the brakes on all merrymaking.

Knox viewed Christmas as an overly indulgent, Catholic-led festival and did his best to phase it out. The Scottish Parliament eventually banned the holiday in 1640, the reason we traditionally go all-out for Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) instead. The Scottish kirk had no say over secular celebrations! 

Meanwhile, the Yuletide went unobserved in Scotland. We resisted attempts by James VI, and then Charles II following the Restoration, to revive it. The 25th of December remained a working day for most Scots right up until the 20th century. However, attitudes did start to change among the Scottish middle classes from the late Victorian period onwards. 

They, like in England, bought into the culture of card-giving, gift exchanges and stocking filling as encouraged by 19th-century capitalists. But it was only through commercialising the holiday that the telling of spooky stories in December (which had waned during the Industrial Revolution) came back into fashion.

The Christmas ghost story 

We have talented Victorian novelists to thank for encouraging the general public to remember the dead at Yuletide’s end. None more so than Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol coincided with the invention of the first commercial Christmas card in 1843 and its popularity helped to revive holiday cheer in Britain as well as our enthusiasm for festive horror stories.

The Victorians loved to frighten friends and family members with tall tales of ghosts and ancient lore during the dark winter nights leading up to Christmas. The only reason we don’t do the same today is that, following two World Wars and the enormous loss of life that came with them, people didn’t want to dwell too long on themes of death and horror. But there is still something to be said for Yuletide as being a holiday very much tied to ghosts. 

Dickens was personally convinced that ghost stories should be told at Christmas. To him, there was comfort to be had from remembering the dead, as well as commemorating other “dead” things like personal defeats, deserted plans and failed relationships. Doing so, he thought, would help us to confront the past and celebrate (rather than mourn) the things that made us feel alive. 

Much like we do with history. It’s a way to look back and find fun, entertainment and even learn from some of the most horrifying stories of the past. So perhaps, as we march towards Christmas, and it gets more grim and colder outside, getting acquainted with the haunted side of Edinburgh isn’t a bad idea. If the long and haunted history of Yuletide has anything to say about it, December is the best month to book a ghost tour. 

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Historic bars where you can have a dram this St. Andrews Day 23 Nov 2022, 4:33 pm

St. Andrews Day is a national holiday in Scotland, celebrated every year on the 30th of November. St Andrew was officially named the patron saint of Scotland in 1320 when The Declaration of Arbroath was signed to declare Scotland’s independence. 

The holiday, above all, is a celebration of Scottish culture – and we believe that the festivities are best washed down with some local gin or a dram of whisky! For those coming to visit Auld Reekie Tours at the end of November, here are some of our top choices of Old Town bars to stop in for a drink and get into the celebratory spirit.

The Tolbooth Tavern 

This kooky little pub has been used for varied and even strange purposes over the years. Built in 1591, the Tolbooth was where travellers paid a toll to enter the Royal Burgh of Edinburgh from the Canongate, which were separate places at the time. 

The most peculiar of all the Tolbooth’s uses was when the Chief Justice to the Abbotts of Holyrood attempted an exorcism in the building during the 16th century. An unfortunate warlock is said to have “expired” under his watch. 

Fortunately for us, the standard of service has improved since then! All we need to worry about are its tables and range of exclusive dining experiences getting booked up. The building became a drinking establishment in 1820 and has remained so ever since.

The Ensign Ewart 

The Ensign Ewart should be included in any whisky lover’s trip to Edinburgh. The bar of this snug, wainscot-panelled pub is packed with an extensive range of malt whiskies and plenty of traditional ales, all of which the staff can skillfully offer background information and advice on.

Named after Charles Ewart, a Scottish war hero who defeated the French Invincibles at the Battle of Waterloo, the cellars of the pub date back to 1603. If you’re looking for a place full of warmth and character to have a dram, you can’t go wrong with the Ensign. 

Deacon Brodie’s Tavern 

Deacon Brodie was a duplicitous tradesman who used his knowledge as a working locksmith to rob the shops and homes of Edinburgh’s Old Town during the 18th century. Brodie was famously executed in front of a crowd of 40,000 people for his crimes. 

Deacon Brodie’s Tavern was named after him in 1806. Today, this quaint but ornately decorated drinking establishment is an excellent spot to absorb the historic atmosphere of Old Town Edinburgh. It’s situated directly across the road from the Auld Reekie Tours tour starting point at 300 Lawnmarket. Look out for it the next time you come to visit us!

The White Hart Inn

Tucked away in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket, The White Hart Inn has catered to its fair share of legendary characters throughout the centuries. Records of the establishment date back to 1516 but the majority of the premises were built in 1740. 

Robert Burns is known to have spent a week here in 1791 while seeing his lover, Nancy Macklehouse, and it was this visit that likely inspired him to pen Ae Fond Kiss; while Burke and Hare, Edinburgh’s infamous serial-killing duo, were also patrons of the inn. 

One thing to bear in mind: the pub is the oldest in Edinburgh and therefore supposed to be very haunted. Hang on to your whiskies, you might need them to steady the nerves.

The World’s End

Remember I mentioned that the Canongate was once a separate place from Edinburgh? This was because we still had a wall around the city, built after the Battle of Flodden to keep the English out (sorry, English folks, you kept trying to pillage us!). 

The remains of the wall were largely demolished as Edinburgh expanded and modernised throughout the centuries. What is now known as The World’s End pub was once the last building that residents would see before leaving Edinburgh – to them, their “end of the world”. 

Make sure to book in advance if you want to stop in for a drink, it’s a very popular venue despite its tiny size. 

Whistle Binkies 

Finally, Whistle Binkies has to make the cut. The pub may only have opened in the 1990s, but its premises are built into the historic vaults beneath the South Bridge just like Auld Reekie Tours.Unsurprisingly, it’s supposed to be just as haunted too.

The Imp and The Watcher are the most famous of its ghosts. The former enjoys smashing glasses and locking staff members in the basement; the latter is a dark and mysterious 18th-century gentleman who once worked as a security guard in the vaults. 

Whistle Binkies is a vibrant venue and the perfect place to kick back and celebrate all things Scottish by enjoying music performed live into the small hours of the morning. Just stay vigilant of any restless ghosts knocking your drinks off the table!

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Happy birthday, Robert Louis Stevenson 13 Nov 2022, 10:00 am

Today marks the 172nd birthday of one of the world’s most celebrated writers: Robert Louis Stevenson. Born in Edinburgh on 13th November 1850, his body of work comprises classics such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped and, most famous of all, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 

Described by Stevenson as nothing more than a “fine bogey tale”, the Gothic thriller was an instant hit and catapulted the Scottish author to literary fame forever. Since its publication in 1886, many readers have been quick to catch on to how closely Stevenson’s moody descriptions of Victorian “London” actually resemble those of dreich and misty Edinburgh. 

While it’s true that “Auld Reekie” certainly had a part to play in inspiring Stevenson’s writing, what many people don’t realise is just how much the dark and twisted tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was directly inspired by the city and, more specifically, one of its residents. 

It makes sense. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s childhood home once stood a double-doored, mahogany veneer cabinet at the foot of his bed that now lives in the Edinburgh Writer’s Museum. It was made by none other than Deacon Brodie. 

Deacon Brodie was an infamous cabinet maker who lived a double life of crime and respectability in Edinburgh’s Old Town a hundred years before the audacious Jekyll and villainous Hyde were ever dreamed up. 

Deacon Brodie 

Okay, I fibbed. William Brodie, born in 1741, was much more than just a cabinet maker (and don’t let any tour guide tell you otherwise!). He was actually an incredibly skilled tradesman in more ways than one. 

Brodie was a talented carpenter, surveyor, architect and structural engineer, and became so well respected that he was elected as the head (Deacon) of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons in 1775 and 1776. This earned him a seat on Edinburgh’s Town Council. 

Moreover, upon the death of his father in 1782, Brodie inherited £10,000. 

So, it would seem that, on the surface, Deacon Brodie was rich, influential, successful and admired…but beneath “Jekyll” lurked “Hyde”. A man who abused his position and reputation to rob the shops and homes of the Old Town for (potentially) two decades. 

What would drive a man who had everything to stoop so low? Easy: Deacon Brodie was living to excess. He was a compulsive gambler, drank heavily and was seeing between three and five mistresses at once. This landed the Deacon with at least two illegitimate children to support. 

Not that this should have been a problem. Brodie had inherited £10,000, after all, which was enough to pay both the “bastard fee” (as it was called at the time) to his mistresses and live a pleasurable life himself. By this point, however, the Deacon had gambled his entire inheritance away and was struggling to fund his lifestyle. 

A Double Life

To continue satiating his destructive habits, Brodie had a deplorable but admittedly ingenious idea. He’d draw from his knowledge as a locksmith to stage midnight robberies. You see, to measure the dimensions of the furniture he fitted in the shops and homes around Edinburgh, the Deacon needed keys to access these properties…

He made copies of these keys, which Brodie then used to return in the dead of night to rob his clients blind. The spree of burglaries largely happened between 1786 and 1788 but, strangely, the first seems to have occurred twenty years beforehand – on 13th August 1768. 

The counting house of Johnston and Smith, bankers in the Royal Exchange (today’s Edinburgh City Chambers) was pillaged for £830 using a counterfeit key. The next morning, £225 turned up on the doorstep of the building, thought to be part of the original sum.

Brodie had done work on the bank not long before the robbery. But the mystery of whether he was involved or not remains unsolved. Why? Thebizarre timing, for a start, and the fact that Brodie hadn’t yet gathered together a “parcel of rogues” to help him carry out his crimes. 

A Parcel of Rogues

During the summertime of 1786, Deacon Brodie befriended three other like-minded miscreants at an inn and tavern on the Grassmarket. Brodie was a patron of the institution and was also known to have gambled much of his money away here on cockfights. 

The men (George Smith, Andrew Ainslie and John Brown) all hailed from vastly different backgrounds to the Deacon but, nonetheless, the group became fast friends. They were quick to establish their objective: to burgle the Old Town “to [their] great advantage”. 

You could certainly say that Brodie’s gang robbed Edinburgh “advantageously” over the next eighteen months, even going so far as to snatch £400 from a silk merchant, enough money to feed a family for years. But then they got too big for their boots. 

The Excise Office 

In March 1788, the gang raided Scotland’s Excise Office. They only managed to steal £16 before Smith and Ainslie were caught, while the Government immediately raised a hue and cry for the others’ arrests. It frightened John Brown so much that he promptly handed himself in. 

On the other hand, Deacon Brodie made a run for it. He managed to get as far as London, then to Flushing in the Netherlands where his plan was to board a ship to America. Ultimately, he was apprehended in Amsterdam and hauled back to Edinburgh to face justice in chains.

The testimonies of Ainslie and Brown, combined with burglary tools found in Brodie’s house and evidence provided by a passenger on the boat to Flushing (who had been given letters by Brodie to deliver back in Scotland) ensured that both himself and Smith met the noose.

On 1st October 1788, the pair were hung in front of a crowd of 40,000 people at the Tolbooth. Bedecked in finery and a powdered wig, the strange case ofDeacon Brodie was brought to a befitting end when Brodie died upon the gallows that he, as a Town Councillor, had commissioned. 

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The Origins of Samhuinn 28 Oct 2022, 12:52 pm

It’s just a few days until Halloween and this is undoubtedly one of the busiest weeks in the year for our guides. Why? Because with the onset of dark, bitter days comes heightened superstition and fascination with the paranormal. Especially in Scotland. 

After all, it’s at Halloween that the barriers separating the living and the dead are supposed to break down and facilitate communication with the spiritual world…

Ever courteous to our victims (I mean, our visitors…), we deliver only the most horrifying tours of the South Bridge vaults. Book now to celebrate Halloween with us, which has its roots in the Gaelic festival of Samhuinn. 

What is Samhuinn? 

The ancient Celts celebrated Samhuinn between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. It was the most impressive of their four fire festivals staged throughout the year, with a large bonfire being lit by a Druid priest to honour the dead. 

Traditionally, it marked the end of the harvest season and the coming of darker days. The Celts reckoned that with death and decay happening all around them, ancient spirits could break into the mortal world and torment the living. 

Offerings, such as animal sacrifices, were left on doorsteps to distract harmful ghosts from meddling with the community, while “dumb suppers” were held for deceased family members, whereby a meal was plated up for them in their memory. 

The Celts would also dress up as strange creatures to “disguise” themselves from the ghosts, which is where the Scottish tradition of “guising” (more commonlyknown today as “trick or treating”) comes from.

How can I celebrate Samhuinn today? 

For information on how to watch a modern reimagining of the Samhuinn fire festival in Edinburgh this month, check out our Six Spine-Chilling Suggestions of Things To Do in Edinburgh for Halloween.

The Scottish Crannog Centre is also hosting an evening of fire displays, games and fortune telling on Halloween night, which we reckon is bound to create the atmosphere of drama and celebration once experienced by the ancient Celts. 

However, if getting as close to the paranormal world is what you’re truly looking for this festive season, then look no further than Auld Reekie Tours. 

Our Halloween Fright Night will have you dressing up and leaving your leftovers at the door in no time…

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Six Spine-chilling Suggestions of Things To Do in Edinburgh for Halloween. 10 Oct 2022, 1:05 pm

Edinburgh is famed as being one of the most haunted places in the world thanks to its dark history of witchcraft trials, public executions, disease and torture. It’s no surprise that the city explodes with activity around Halloween. 

Struggling to decide on how to celebrate? Here are six spine-chilling suggestions picked out by our staff at Auld Reekie Tours.

1. Auld Reekie Tours

Join us here at Auld Reekie Tours! We own the largest portion of vaults beneath the infamous South Bridge. These were originally carved out as storage rooms in the late 18th century before being abandoned and left to become the haunt of beggars, bodysnatchers and possibly criminal gangs.

Today, a jaunt through the vaults regularly sends visitors sprinting for the exit. Ours were featured on Most Haunted back in 2008 and scared Joe Swash sufficiently enough into believing ghosts are real. Reckon you’d fare better? We recommend booking: 

18+ The Terror Tour 

12+ The Vaults & Graveyard Tour 

12+ The Haunted Vaults Tour 

2. National Museum of Scotland 

The Anatomy: A Matter of Life and Death exhibition is running at The National Museum of Scotland until Halloween. If you’re up for a morbidly fascinating afternoon, this is the place to be. As well as documenting 500 years of medical dissection, the exhibition specially focuses on the social conditions in Edinburgh that brought about the Burke and Hare murders. 

Speaking of which, William Burke’s handwritten confession and skeleton are both on display: his body was donated to Edinburgh University’s anatomy school following his execution. How’s that for historical karma!

3. Samhuinn Fire Festival 

Beltane Fire Society returns to Calton Hill with another awe-inspiring spectacle this October. Following on from their celebration of Beltane back in April, the Samhuinn Fire Festival is a modern reimagining of the ancient Celtic festival, which marks the return of winter on Halloween night. 

Book tickets now to watch the Summer and Winter Kings dramatically clash in a performance enacted through fire tossing, dancing and acrobatics. 

4. Edinburgh Horror Festival 

Running from the 27th to the 31st October, the Edinburgh Horror Festival! is a run of 18+ live theatre experiences at the Banshee Labyrinth. Reputedly, this is one of the most haunted pubs in Scotland. Why? Because it is situated in the South Bridge Vaults!

Like the website says, we recommend grabbing a drink before taking a seat in the underground theatre. You’re going to need one to steady the nerves. 

5. Fright Night: Silent Movie Double

Stockbridge isn’t exactly known as being one of the “scariest” districts in Edinburgh. However, the silent movie era double bill at St. Vincent’s Chapel promises to plunge you into the haunted atmosphere of Gothic Edinburgh. 

Accompanied by a score curated and performed by professional musicians, two 1920s horror classics – Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Nosferatu (“Vampire”) – will be screened by candlelight in the shadows of the church.

6. The Botanics Halloween Trail 

This is a perfect option for families with young children. Pick up a trail booklet (only £2) at either the East or West entrance of Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden to follow Hootie the Owl on an adventure through the gardens. 

The aim is to collect all the ancient botanical ingredients needed to cast a spell that will “magically” result in a tasty treat. We believe you still get given one whether successful in the quest or not…but no promises. 

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Darren’s 2,000 Tours Milestone  5 Sep 2022, 11:28 am

Things are a lot calmer in the office here at Auld Reekie Tours now that the excitement of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is over. The good news is that this means we are now able to thoroughly congratulate our longest-serving Tour Guide, Darren, on hitting 2,000 tours.

Darren was awarded with a bottle of champagne for his time given and the enthusiasm he has been bringing to the company ever since beginning with us back in 2012.

Darren was delighted to find out that he had reached this milestone and commented that the best aspects of his job over the years have been meeting new people from across the globe and being able to stay active so easily. Who needs a gym membership when you have the pleasure of marching up and down Fishmarket Close every day? 

When asked what his best story from touring was, he had too many to choose from – but above all, he finds any incident that involves his group members getting genuinely frightened by his storytelling entertaining. 

Congratulations, Darren! Catch him on any one of our guided walking tours the next time you visit Auld Reekie Tours in Edinburgh. 

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Edinburgh’s landmark – The Tron Kirk 23 Nov 2020, 11:42 am

The Tron Kirk originally known as Christ’s Kirk at the Tron was built between 1637 and 1647 for the North-West parish, one of the four parishes of Edinburgh, prior to the Kirk’s construction parishioners of the North-West parish worshipped in St Giles Cathedral. King Charles I ordered the Tron Kirk’s to be built when he decided that St Giles’ was to become the cathedral for the new see of Edinburgh. The land was purchased by the parish from Dr. William Scott, MD, for £1000 Scots and the Kirk was constructed by royal master mason, John Mylne, who modelled it on fashionable Dutch designs mixing both Palladian and Gothic features. It has one of Scotland’s two surviving hammerbeam roofs and the clock for the tower was salvaged from the old Weigh House at the head of West Bow and was installed in 1658.

The name Tron Kirk came from the fact that there was a Tron positioned outside the Kirk, a Tron was a public weighing beam used to measure goods to be sold at market, and the word Kirk is Scots for church.

Petty criminals would be punished at this site, quite often corrupt merchants and thieves. They would be nailed to the supporting post of the weighing beam, left there all day receiving abuse and missiles then with the nail still intact, taken by the ankles and ripped of the post.

The building was reduced in size in the late 1700’s when the east side was demolished to make way for the South Bridge being built followed by the west side being demolished to make the building more symmetrical. On the 16th November 1824, the Kirk spire and clock were destroyed in the Great Fire of Edinburgh, the spire was rebuilt by R & R Dickson and a new clock was ordered from James Clark of Edinburgh.

The Kirk used to be the focus of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations for at least 200 years, the citizens of Edinburgh would gather on Hunter Square next to the Tron and bring in the New Year on the stroke of midnight from it’s famous old clock. The event grew in popularity and gravitated to the more accommodating city centre with the City Council’s organised Hogmanay Street Party.

Beneath the Tron Kirk are archaeological remains of Marlin’s Wynd, the earliest paved street in Scotland, some of Marlin’s Wynd’s tenement buildings were demolished to make way for the kirk’s construction. The foundations of 16th century buildings were found when excavations took place under the church, from within, in 1974. Documentation from the 15th century about Marlin’s Wynd has been found along with archaeological evidence dating from the 16th and 17th century, leading archaeologists to believe the buildings had been redeveloped during the late 15th/early 16th centuries, leaving just a trace of the earlier structures.

In 1697, Thomas Aikenhead became the last person in Scotland to be executed for the crime of blasphemy after he blasphemed outside the Kirk. On a particularly cold night he was reported to have said “I wish I were in that place Ezra calls hell so I could warm myself” he was only 18 years old.

The Tron Kirk has survived structural damage, social unrest, the threat of demolition and has had a variety of uses. It closed as a church in 1952 and was acquired by the City of Edinburgh Council. The building is currently leased to Edinburgh World Heritage, they have an exhibition within the atmospheric 17th century former Kirk themed on the historic Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, as well as Scotland’s other five World Heritage Sites. The exhibition highlights what makes Edinburgh’s heritage so important, as well as pointing out some of the issues associated with preserving it. The Tron Kirk is still standing but it is in a poor state of repair and is included on the Historic Environment Scotland Buildings at Risk Register. The objective of the Edinburgh World Heritage is to save the Tron from deteriorating further and to ensure this nationally significant building has a future.

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Heave Awa’ Hoose 16 Oct 2020, 10:37 am

On the 24th of November 1861, a 16th century dilapidated seven-story building situated between Bailie Fyfe’s Close and Paisley Close in Edinburgh’s Old Town suddenly collapsed in its entirety. 

The disaster happened at ten past one in the morning, with at least 77 inhabitants of the tenement safely tucked up in bed or so they thought. The hugely overcrowded, harrowing living conditions and decaying ruinous state of the buildings in Edinburgh was an inevitable accident waiting to happen and happen it did, on an epic scale. 

Two police officers were passing the site when they heard an almighty rumbling crash as the building disintegrated and rendered itself to the ground right in front of them, once the eardrum perforating noise had subsided they could then hear the blood curdling sound of muffled, anguished, desperate screams of the victims trapped under the rubble. Rescuers worked tirelessly throughout the night and into the next day extracting bodies and badly injured survivors. As a consequence of the catastrophe 35 people died either at the scene or later in hospital….

Horrendous I know, but there are one or two happy endings to the story. 

Just as the sun was rising, a foot was seen protruding from the wreckage, the foot belonged to 12 year old Joseph McIvor. As rescue workers started clearing the rubble surrounding him they heard a spirited little voice shout… “heave awa’ lads, ah’m no’ deid yet”. Now for those of you who aren’t fluent in Scots dialect this translates as, “heave away lads I’m not dead yet”, a variation of this desperate but comical statement was carved onto the lintel of the replacement building above the entrance to Paisley Close, the building is now affectionately known as Heave Awa’ Hoose. 

Another positive outcome was in 1867 when, as a result of the tragedy being the last straw regarding the city’s appalling housing and living conditions, The City Improvements Act was passed by the Lord Provost William Chambers and by the end of the century many of the ancient semi-derelict hovels of the Old Town had been demolished and replaced.

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