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On This Day... 16 November 1824: The Great Fire of Edinburgh

By Alexander Clapperton, November 16, 2014 - 3:29pm
The Great Fire, as seen from the Lawnmarket

Over the course of this evening in 1824, Edinburgh’s most destructive accidental fire reached its climax. It had broken out at around 10pm the previous evening in the workshop of engraver James Kirkwood at the top of Assembly Close, where a pot of linseed oil had been overheated, spilled and set fire to a stack of paper. By morning, the fire had spread most of the way along the close it began in, and by its peak it had spread as far down the Royal Mile as Tron Square, reached uphill to Parliament Square, and extended down Fishmarket Close as far as the Cowgate.

On This Day... 6 November 1828: The real Mary Paterson

By Alexander Clapperton, November 6, 2014 - 3:56pm
A contemporary illustration of Mary Paterson (not drawn from life)

On the evening of the 5th of November 1828, a woman by the name of Janet Brown read in the Edinburgh Courant of the arrest of William Burke and William Hare on suspicion of murder. She was shocked, both men being known to her, and with growing dread recalled that it was in their company that she had last seen her friend, Mary Paterson, six months previously.

How about Trick AND Treat?

By Adam Lyal, October 31, 2014 - 5:30pm
Some racketeering villains, earlier this evening

Hallowe'en is here again!

As darkness falls across Edinburgh's Old Town, my macabre minions and I are preparing to scare the wits out of more willing victims than any other night of the year. As is usually the case, there will be many extra ghosts lurking up closes and down gloomy stairs to help us along; and of course, we also have the benefit of thousands of unpaid extras haunting the streets as well!

On This Day... 19 October 1687: Sedan Chairs

By Alexander Clapperton, October 19, 2014 - 11:07am
A Sedan Chair

In the first of an occasional series, we look back at events in Edinburgh's history that happened on this day.

On this day in 1687, the first sedan chairs became available for public hire in Edinburgh.

Although some the wealthier residents of the city had owned their own private sedan chairs for many decades, this was the first opportunity that the lower orders had to experience such luxury. The bearers of these "hackney chairs" were typically Highlanders who had migrated south in search of employment: men used to heavy labour and being outdoors in all seasons.

WitcheryTours.com Version 3.0: A New Day at Midnight

By Web Monster, September 30, 2014 - 11:59pm

Every few years (seven, in this case) we feel like a bit of a spring-clean. That extends even to our online realm, so we decided to give this very website a bit of serious TLC (timid light caressing? --Ed).

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