1.
Film festival
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A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors, films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festivals focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre or subject matter, a number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are annual events. Some film historians do not consider Film Festivals as official releases of film, the Venice Film Festival is the oldest major festival. The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern Hemisphere, the San Sebastián International Film Festival is one of the most important and oldest film festivals in Europe. It was at this festival where the worldwide first release of North by Northwest was showed, Raindance Film Festival is the UKs largest celebration of independent film-making, and takes place in London in October. Australias first and longest running festival is the Melbourne International Film Festival. Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Great Britain, North Americas first and longest running short film festival is the Yorkton Film Festival, established in 1947. The first film festival in the United States was the Columbus International Film & Video Festival, also known as The Chris Awards and it was followed four years later by the San Francisco International Film Festival, held in March 1957, which emphasized feature-length dramatic films. The festival played a role in introducing foreign films to American audiences. Films in the first year included Akira Kurosawas Throne of Blood, Film festival dedicated to honoring music in film. Digital feature film began in 2005, along with the worlds first online film festival. Unlike other arts nonprofits, film festivals typically receive few donations from the public and are occasionally organized as nonprofit business associations instead of public charities. Film industry members often have significant curatorial input, and corporate sponsors are given opportunities to promote their brand to festival audiences in exchange for cash contributions, private parties, often to raise investments for film projects, constitute significant fringe events. Larger festivals maintain year-round staffs often engaging in community and charitable projects outside festival season, on the other hand, some festivals—usually those accepting fewer films, and perhaps not attracting as many big names in their audiences as do Sundance and Telluride—require no entry fee. Rotterdam Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival, and many film festivals in the United States, are examples. The Portland International Film Festival charges a fee, but waives it for filmmakers from the Northwestern United States
2.
Edinburgh Filmhouse
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The Edinburgh Filmhouse is an Edinburgh cinema which opened in 1979. It is home to the worlds oldest continually running film festival, the cinema began life when, in 1979, the disused St. Thomas Church building was converted into a 100-seat auditorium accessed via a side entrance on Morrison Street Lane. The front of the building was listed and remained inaccessible until in 1985 when a new 280 seat auditorium and bar were added and it is located in Lothian Road and is part of the Cultural Quarter along with the nearby Usher Hall and Traverse and Lyceum Theatres. Since its inception it has been host to the Edinburgh International Film Festival annually, visiting film luminaries have included Martin Scorsese, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sean Connery, The Muppets and James Mason among many others. The Filmhouse is a publicly funded arthouse cinema and its programme is varied, ranging from arthouse and foreign cinema to mainstream and second run films seven days a week. There is a cafe for pre film food and drinks which is based on the nearby Waverley Station
3.
Cineworld
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Cineworld Group plc is the second largest cinema operator in Europe with 2,049 screens across 221 sites in 9 countries. The UK operations consist of arthouse chain Picturehouse Cinemas and multiplex chain Cineworld Cinemas with 24 and 82 cinemas respectively, all but two Cineworld sites are located in the UK, with one each in Ireland and Jersey. Cineworld is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with over 800 screens, Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew Street is the tallest cinema in the world and the busiest, by customer base, in the UK. The Cineworld site with the greatest number of screens is that located at Valley Centertainment in Sheffield and it is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250 Index. Additional sites were opened at a steady rate throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, in 2005, Cineworld also took over the UK and Ireland operations of French cinema company UGC. Post-merger, Cineworld have continued to new locations, as of 2015, Cineworld have 82 locations in the UK, Ireland. In August 2013, The Guardian revealed that Cineworld employs 80% of its 4,300 staff on zero hour contracts, in October 2013, The Chester location was closed due to the landowner wanting to develop the land into a supermarket. This has been the first Cineworld to close without being sold and was the first cinema to leave the chain in 8 years, in 2014 Cineworlds Picturehouse chain was subject to industrial action owing to its refusal to pay the London Living Wage to its staff. The workforce attracted the support of Eric Cantona, on 27 February 2014 Cineworld completed the takeover of Cinema City International N. V. In what can be seen to be a reverse takeover. Each Cineworld cinema has between 1 and 20 screens, which typically show mainstream general-release films, some Cineworlds also show broadcasts of opera, theatre, live music and sports. All Cineworlds also have an area, where food and drink such as popcorn, nachos or hotdogs can be purchased, Candyking pick. Various cinemas sell Ben and Jerrys ice cream but many were switched to Baskin Robbins in late 2013-early 2014 as part of that brands UK expansion, CafeBars and small amusement arcades can also be found at some cinemas. In October 2012, Cineworld began to some of its CafeBars with Starbucks Coffee outlets after agreeing a deal with the coffee chain. As of September 2013, nine Cineworld cinemas have IMAX screens, as new sites open contracts have been signed for installs of both along with further installs of IMAX screens at older sites. Following a recent refit, the Milton Keynes cinema has acquired both a Superscreen and a 4DX screen, the first in the UK, Cineworld intends to roll out further Superscreen and 4DX screens to other sites in the future. In June 2011, Cineworld began a trial of a premium cinema brand, located next to the Cheltenham cinema, The Screening Rooms offers considerably larger, leather seating, premium food, and table service. In early 2014 Cineworld introduced a seating system, starting as a trial in selected sites including Wembley
4.
Edinburgh Festival Theatre
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After its most recent renovation in 1994, it seats 1,915. It is one of the venues of the annual summer Edinburgh International Festival and is the Edinburgh venue for the Scottish Opera. The present theatre’s location is Edinburgh’s longest continuous theatre site, for there has been a theatre in that location since 1830. For the following twenty years all the top artists of the day played at the Empire Palace until, on 9 May 1911, there was a disastrous fire on stage. While all 3000 theatre goers escaped safely in about 2.5 minutes, there were eleven deaths and the death of a lion). However, given the term competition from the growth of film as a popular medium. Reusing some of Matcham’s original design concepts, the theatre reopened on 1 October 1928 with the first production, between 1928 and 1963 the Empire was a variety, musical and opera house, often including ice shows. In addition to the hall and popular entertainers who appeared at the Empire. However, for thirty years after 1963 the theatre became a bingo hall. In the early 1970s the bingo hall also hosted music events. Bands did not appear until after 11pm - once the players had gone. Wishbone Ash and Focus were among the acts appearing, finally, after its third major remodeling, the Empire Palace Theatre reopened in June 1994 with a glass-fronted structure for the new entrance, as the now-renamed Edinburgh Festival Theatre. In 1997, the manager and artistic director Stephen Barry was appointed to shape the rejuvenated venues future. The theatre is said to be haunted by a tall, dark stranger rumoured to be the famous illusionist Sigmund Neuberger, the Great Lafayette, who was one of those who burned to death in the fire at the Empire in 1911. Edinburgh Festival Theatre Official Website Theatregoer letters to Paul Iles, Founding General Manager of Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 1992-1996
5.
Odeon Cinemas
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Odeon is a cinema company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which along with UCI Cinemas is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group. It uses the name of the Odeon cinema circuit first introduced in Britain in 1930. The first Odeon cinema was opened by Oscar Deutsch in 1928, in Brierley, Staffordshire, the first cinema to use the Odeon brand name was Deutschs cinema at Perry Barr, Birmingham in 1930. Ten years later Odeon was part of the Rank Organisation who continued their ownership of the circuit for a further sixty years. Through a number of sales and acquisitions in the early 2000s the company was purchased by Terra Firma, most UCI cinemas then took the Odeon brand name in 2006. Terra Firma sold the company to AMC Theatres in November 2016, in 2016, Odeon was the largest cinema chain in the United Kingdom by market share. Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch, the name Nickelodeon was coined in 1905 and was widely used to describe small cinemas in the United States during that era. However the company is most associated with J. Arthur Rank, the first cinema opened by Oscar Deutsch was located in Brierley Hill, Staffordshire, England in 1928. The building has long since demolished, but as of 2006. However, its style is more functional than that of original Odeon cinemas, ironically, the first cinema that opened under the Odeon brand was located in Perry Barr, Birmingham. It was designed by Harry Weedon, the frontage was remodelled following damage sustained during the Second World War and, having been a bingo hall, has since been converted into a conference venue. By 1930, Odeon was a name and the cinemas known for their maritime-inspired Art Deco architecture. This style was first used in 1930 on the cinema at Perry Barr in Birmingham and he liked the style so much that he commissioned the architect, Harry Weedon, to design his future buildings. It is currently a club in the Mecca chain. It featured central linear lighting, a feature that became characteristic of his work, in 1935, Oscar Deutsch commissioned John Maltby, a professional photographer, to photograph every cinema in the Odeon chain at that time. The resulting collection, of internal and external photographs, is held in the archive of English Heritage. Deutsch sold the chain to the interests of J. Arthur Rank. By the time of Oscar Deutschs death in 1941,258 Odeons had opened throughout Britain, after the sale to J. Arthur Rank Corporation, Odeon also operated a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, Odeon Theatres Ltd. with more than a hundred cinemas in Canada, coast-to-coast
6.
Edinburgh
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Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 local government council areas. Located in Lothian on the Firth of Forths southern shore, it is Scotlands second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The 2014 official population estimates are 464,990 for the city of Edinburgh,492,680 for the authority area. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and it is the largest financial centre in the UK after London. Historically part of Midlothian, the city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World University Rankings in 2013 and 2014. The city is famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe. The citys historical and cultural attractions have made it the United Kingdoms second most popular tourist destination after London, attracting over one million overseas visitors each year. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, Edinburghs Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. It appears to derive from the place name Eidyn mentioned in the Old Welsh epic poem Y Gododdin, the poem names Din Eidyn as a hill fort in the territory of the Gododdin. The Celtic element din was dropped and replaced by the Old English burh, the first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is a royal charter, c. 1124–1127, by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline. In modern Gaelic, the city is called Dùn Èideann, the earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond, where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c.8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have found on Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat, Craiglockhart Hill. When the Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, at some point before the 7th century AD, the Gododdin, who were presumably descendants of the Votadini, built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin. Although its location has not been identified, it likely they would have chosen a commanding position like the Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria and it thenceforth remained under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, in 1638, King Charles Is attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In the 17th century, Edinburghs boundaries were defined by the citys defensive town walls
7.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
8.
Edinburgh International Festival
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The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual festival of performing arts in Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks in August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music, theatre, opera, the festival also hosts a series of visual art exhibitions, talks and workshops. Bing had looked at several English cities before shifting his focus to Scotland and settling on Edinburgh, certain preconditions were obviously required of such a centre. It should be a town of size, capable of absorbing and entertaining anything between 50,000 and 150,000 visitors over a period of three weeks to a month. It should, like Salzburg, have considerable scenic and picturesque appeal and it should be set in a country likely to be attractive to tourists and foreign visitors. It should have sufficient number of theatres, concert halls and open spaces for the staging of a programme of an ambitious. Greatly daring but not without confidence I recommended Edinburgh as the centre, wood approached Falconer, who enthusiastically welcomed the initiative on behalf of the city. As it was too late to finalise arrangements for 1946, plans were made for the following year, the first International Festival took place between 22 August and 11 September 1947. The Festival has since taken place every August, the British Armys desire to showcase itself during the Festival period led to the independent staging of the first Edinburgh Military Tattoo, featuring displays of piping and dancing, in 1950. This annual event has come to be regarded as an part of the official festival. In 1999, the Festival opened a new box office and information centre in The Hub. The Edinburgh International Festival was brought forward to coincide with the Fringe in 2015, the principal venues of the Festival are, The Edinburgh Playhouse Usher Hall Festival Theatre, primarily used for opera and ballet productions. Collectively, the group is referred to as the Edinburgh Festival. Most notable of these is the Edinburgh Fringe, which started as an offshoot of the International Festival and has grown to be the worlds largest arts festival. List of opera festivals Bruce, G. Festival in the North, the Edinburgh International Festival,1947 –1996
9.
Cannes
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Cannes is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune of France located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, the city is known for its association with the rich and famous, its luxury hotels and restaurants, and for several conferences. On 3 November 2011 it also played host to the G20 organisation of industrialised nations, by the 2nd century BC, the Ligurian Oxybii established a settlement here known as Aegitna. Historians are unsure what the name means, the area was a fishing village used as a port of call between the Lérins Islands. In 69 AD, it became the scene of violent conflict between the troops of Otho and Vitellius, in the 10th century, the town was known as Canua. The name may derive from canna, a reed, Canua was probably the site of a small Ligurian port, and later a Roman outpost on Le Suquet hill, suggested by Roman tombs discovered here. Le Suquet housed an 11th-century tower which overlooked swamps where the city now stands, most of the ancient activity, especially protection, was on the Lérins Islands and the history of Cannes is closely tied to the history of the islands. An attack by the Saracens in 891, who remained until the end of the 10th century, the insecurity of the Lérins islands forced the monks to settle on the mainland, at the Suquet. Construction of a castle in 1035 fortified the city by then known as Cannes, one took a century to build. Around 1530, Cannes detached from the monks who had controlled the city for hundreds of years, during the 18th century, both the Spanish and British tried to gain control of the Lérins Islands but were chased away by the French. The islands were controlled by many, such as Jean-Honoré Alziary. They had many different purposes, at the end of the 19th century, henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux bought land at the Croix des Gardes and constructed the villa Eleonore-Louise. His work to improve living conditions attracted the English aristocracy, who built winter residences. At the end of the 19th century, several railways were completed, in Cannes, projects such as the Boulevard Carnot and the rue dAntibes were carried out. After the closure of the Casino des Fleurs, an establishment was built for the rich winter clientele. This casino was demolished and replaced by the new Palace in 1979, in the 20th century, new luxury hotels such as the Carlton, Majestic, Martinez, and JW Marriott Cannes were built. The city was modernised with a centre, a post office. There were fewer British and German tourists after the First World War, winter tourism gave way to summer tourism and the summer casino at the Palm Beach was constructed
10.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
11.
The Herald (Glasgow)
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The Herald is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. The Herald is the longest running newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The newspaper was founded by an Edinburgh-born printer called John Mennons in January 1783 as a publication called the Glasgow Advertiser. Mennons first edition had a scoop, news of the treaties of Versailles. War had ended with the American colonies, he revealed, the Herald, therefore, is as old as the United States of America, give or take an hour or two. The story was, however, only carried on the back page, Mennons, using the larger of two fonts available to him, put it in the space reserved for late news. In 1802, Mennons sold the newspaper to Benjamin Mathie and Dr James McNayr, former owner of the Glasgow Courier, along with the Mercury, was one of two papers Mennons had come to Glasgow to challenge. Mennons son Thomas retained an interest in the company, the new owners changed the name to The Herald and Advertiser and Commercial Chronicle in 1803. In 1805 the name changed again, time to The Glasgow Herald when Thomas Mennons severed his ties to the paper, from 1836 to 1964 The Herald was owned by George Outram & Co. becoming the first daily newspaper in Scotland in 1858. The company took its name from the editor of 19 years, George Outram. Outram was an early Scottish nationalist, a member of the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, any man calling himself a Scotsman should enrol in the National Association, said The Herald. In 1895, the moved to a building in Mitchell Street designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In 1980, the moved to offices in Albion Street in Glasgow into the former Scottish Daily Express building. It is now based at in a building in Renfield Street. One of the most traumatic episodes in the history of The Herald was the battle for control, millionaires Hugh Fraser and Roy Thomson, whose newspaper empire included The Heralds archrival, The Scotsman, fought for control of the title for 52 days. Sir Hugh Fraser was to win, the papers then editor James Holburn was a disapproving onlooker The Labour Party condemned the battle as big business at its worst. The newspaper changed its name to The Herald on 3 February 1992, dropping Glasgow from its title and that same year the title was bought by Caledonia Newspaper Publishing & Glasgow. In 1996 was purchased by Scottish Television, as of 2013 the newspaper along with its related publications, the Evening Times and Sunday Herald, were owned by the Newsquest media group
12.
Tilda Swinton
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Katherine Matilda Tilda Swinton is a British actress, performance artist, model, and fashion muse, known for her roles in independent and Hollywood films. She is the recipient of two BAFTA Awards, one BIFA Award, an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and has received three nominations for a Golden Globe Award. She began her career in films directed by Derek Jarman, starting with Caravaggio, followed by The Last of England, War Requiem, Swinton won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her performance as Isabella of France in Edward II. She next starred in Sally Potters Orlando, and was nominated for the European Film Award for Best Actress, Swinton was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in The Deep End. She followed this with appearances in Vanilla Sky, Adaptation, Young Adam and she then starred in the crime drama Julia, I Am Love, and the psychological thriller We Need to Talk About Kevin. Swinton later starred in the romantic fantasy drama, Only Lovers Left Alive. She is also known for her performances as the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia series, Swinton won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as lawyer Karen Crowder in Michael Clayton. In 2005, Swinton was given the Richard Harris Award by the British Independent Film Awards in recognition of her contributions to the British film industry, in 2013 she was given a special tribute by the Museum of Modern Art. Swinton was born in London, the daughter of Judith Balfour and her father is a retired major general in the British Army, and was Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire from 1989 to 2000. Her paternal great-grandfather was a Scottish politician and herald, George Swinton, the Swinton family is an ancient Anglo-Scots family that can trace its lineage to the Middle Ages. The family is one of three families that can trace their unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest. Swinton attended three independent schools, Queens Gate School in London, the West Heath Girls School and also Fettes College for a brief period, West Heath was an expensive boarding school where she was a classmate and friend of Princess Diana. Children need their parents and the parents can provide. Swinton went to volunteer in Kenya during a break from college with a charity called Project Trust. In 1983, Swinton graduated from New Hall at the University of Cambridge with a degree in Social and Political Sciences, while at Cambridge, she joined the Communist Party, she later joined the Scottish Socialist Party. It was in college that Swinton began performing on stage, Swinton joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1984, appearing in Measure for Measure. She also worked with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, starring in Mann ist Mann by Manfred Karge in 1987, on television, she appeared as Julia in the 1986 mini-series Zastrozzi, A Romance based on the Gothic novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her first film was Caravaggio in 1986, directed by Derek Jarman, Swinton also played the title role in Orlando, Sally Potters film version of the novel by Virginia Woolf
13.
Robert Carlyle
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Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish actor. His film work includes Trainspotting, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough and he has been in the television shows Hamish Macbeth, Stargate Universe, and Once Upon a Time. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Full Monty, Carlyle was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth, a bus company employee, and Joseph Carlyle, a painter and decorator. He was brought up by his father after his left when Carlyle was four years old. Carlyle became involved in drama at the Glasgow Arts Centre at the age of 21, in 1991, he and four friends founded a theatre company, Raindog. The same year he guest starred in The Bill and also starred in his first movie, Riff-Raff, in 1994, he played the gay lover of Father Greg in the film Priest. Carlyles first high-profile role came as murderer Albert Albie Kinsella in an October 1994 episode of Cracker opposite Robbie Coltrane and this highly acclaimed role showcased Carlyles pure intensity. Shortly after his appearance in Cracker, he landed the role of Highland policeman Hamish Macbeth in the BBC comedy-drama Hamish Macbeth, the series ran for three seasons from 1995 to 1997. The latter earned Carlyle a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and he also starred with Ray Winstone in the 1997 film Face. Carlyle appeared in the 2002 Oasis music video for Little By Little and he played Adolf Hitler in the 2003 miniseries Hitler, The Rise of Evil. In 2006 he played the villain Durza in Eragon, in 2007 Carlyle played one of the main characters in the film 28 Weeks Later. He also played the role as a marine engineer attempting to save London from total devastation in the disaster film Flood. That year he also portrayed Father Joseph Macavoy in the film The Tournament, in 2008 Carlyle narrated a BBC audiobook version of The Cutting Room. In 2008, he was cast as Dr. Nicholas Rush in the television series Stargate Universe. His role in the series has been described thus, As to survive, Dr. Rush works to unlock the mysteries of the ship and return the group home and his was touted by the studio as the leading role in Universe. In December 2008, Carlyle appeared in 24, Redemption, a movie based on the popular TV series 24. In 2009, Carlyle appeared in a commercial for Johnnie Walker whisky. Carlyle was shown walking down a path and talking for six minutes in a long take
14.
Seamus McGarvey
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Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC is an Irish cinematographer. McGarvey was born in Armagh, Northern Ireland and he began his career as a still photographer, before attending film school at the University of Westminster in London. He has collected two Academy Award nominations for his cinematography on Joe Wrights 2007 drama, Atonement and his 2012 adaptation of Leo Tolstoys classic novel Anna Karenina. In addition to the Oscar nominations, McGarvey won the British Society of Cinematographers award for Anna Karenina, as well as a nomination for Atonement, and also earned BAFTA and A. S. C. McGarvey hails from Armagh, Northern Ireland, and began his career as a photographer before attending film school at the University of Westminster in London. He also served as cinematographer on the pilot for the BBC/HBO TV series The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, following his work on Godzilla, he reteamed with Taylor-Johnson on her big screen adaptation, and Hollywood directorial debut, of the bestselling novel Fifty Shades of Grey. In 2015, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Dundee University and he is also an Honorary Fellow of Edinburgh College of Art
15.
Talkback Thames
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Talkback Thames was a British television production company, a division of FremantleMedia. It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Television and this merger was arranged in February 2003 and reversed in January 2012. The CEO of Talkback Thames was Sara Geater, who took up the post in October 2010, replacing Lorraine Heggessey and she in turn, replaced Peter Fincham, who had been CEO of Talkback from 1986 to 2003 and then of Talkback Thames from 2003. Fincham left to take over Heggesseys previous job as Controller of BBC One, the splitting of Talkback Thames happened as planned on New Years Day,1 January 2012. A fifth label concentrating on drama, Newman Street, was later launched, the Apprentice - Originally, a Talkback production for BBC One. As the Bell Rings for Disney Channel, the Bill - Originally, a Thames production for ITV. - Originally, a Talkback production for Channel 4, britains Got Talent in association with SYCOtv for ITV. Da Ali G Show - Originally, a Talkback production for Channel 4, - Originally produced by Talbot Television, Central, Fremantle Productions, Grundy and Carlton. Escape to the Country - Originally, a Talkback production for BBC Two, family Affairs - Originally, a Thames production for Channel 5. - Originally produced by ATV, Central and Carlton, grand Designs - Originally, a Talkback production for Channel 4. Grease is the Word in association with SYCOtv for ITV, great British Railway Journeys for BBC Two. Hole in the Wall for BBC One, - Originally, a Talkback production for Channel 4. The IT Crowd for Channel 4, the King is Dead. for BBC Three. Monday Monday - Comedy drama for ITV, never Mind the Buzzcocks - Originally, a Talkback production for BBC Two. Open House with Gloria Hunniford - Originally, a Thames production for Channel 5, poisoned for Sky One PokerFace in association with Gallowgate for ITV. Pop Idol - Originally, a Thames production in association with 19 Management for ITV, the Price is Right for ITV - Originally produced by Central, Yorkshire, Talbot Television, Fremantle Productions and Grundy. Property Ladder - Originally, a Talkback production for Channel 4, QI - Originally, a Talkback production in association with Quite Interesting Limited for BBC Four, BBC One and BBC Two. Richard Bacons Beer & Pizza Club for ITV4, the Rob Brydon Show for BBC Two
16.
Lastminute.com
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Lastminute. com is an online travel and leisure retailer. Lastminute. com was founded in London by Martha Lane Fox, the founders were colleagues at media strategy consultants Spectrum. By January 2000, the site had more than 500,000 regular users and its offerings had expanded to travel, gifts and entertainment. Prior to its flotation, the company raised a further $31m and it opened offices in Paris, Munich and Stockholm. During the ten months ending December 1999, the company handled £37m of transactions, the shares floated on the London Stock Exchange on 14 March 2000. The shares were placed at 380p, valuing the company at £571m, the price rose on the first day of trading to 511p, giving a valuation of £768m, before falling back to 492. 5p later in the day. The paper wealth of the founders of the business went up to around £300m, two hundred and fifty thousand private investors had applied for shares in the flotation. 33m shares – 25% of the company – were being offered for sale, private applicants received just 35 shares each. Two weeks after listing, the price had dropped to 270p. In the first week of April, the shares dipped below 190p, on Monday,17 April 2000, after the biggest ever one-day fall in the New York stock market the preceding Friday, £35bn were wiped off the value of the London Stock Exchange. By now, lastminute. com was trading at 30% of its flotation price and its share price was rising again when the firm announced its first quarters results on 6 May 2000. The company had handled £7. 16m of transactions, up 68% compared with the previous period, during this period, the company had invested in a new version of the website as well as international expansions. These factors pushed pre-tax losses up from £6m to £11m, the market responded to the better-than-expected figures and the shares closed the day up 8p at 245p. Two weeks later, however, the shares closed at 141p, as concerns over dotcom stocks increased, the introduction of a new website – allowing late deals to be targeted according to users personal tastes – was delayed but finally unveiled on 27 November 2000. Meanwhile, on 14 August, lastminute. com announced the acquisition of Degriftour, allan Leighton, the former head of Asda and president of the European division of Wal-Mart, joined the company as non-executive chairman on 20 October. The role was unpaid but he was granted options over 1m shares at a price of 137. 5p. The market reacted with a 9p drop in the price to 128p. The firms shares sank below 100p for the first time on 8 November, full year results to 30 September 2000, announced on 4 December, were slightly ahead of expectations
17.
The Glasgow Herald
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The Herald is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. The Herald is the longest running newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The newspaper was founded by an Edinburgh-born printer called John Mennons in January 1783 as a publication called the Glasgow Advertiser. Mennons first edition had a scoop, news of the treaties of Versailles. War had ended with the American colonies, he revealed, the Herald, therefore, is as old as the United States of America, give or take an hour or two. The story was, however, only carried on the back page, Mennons, using the larger of two fonts available to him, put it in the space reserved for late news. In 1802, Mennons sold the newspaper to Benjamin Mathie and Dr James McNayr, former owner of the Glasgow Courier, along with the Mercury, was one of two papers Mennons had come to Glasgow to challenge. Mennons son Thomas retained an interest in the company, the new owners changed the name to The Herald and Advertiser and Commercial Chronicle in 1803. In 1805 the name changed again, time to The Glasgow Herald when Thomas Mennons severed his ties to the paper, from 1836 to 1964 The Herald was owned by George Outram & Co. becoming the first daily newspaper in Scotland in 1858. The company took its name from the editor of 19 years, George Outram. Outram was an early Scottish nationalist, a member of the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, any man calling himself a Scotsman should enrol in the National Association, said The Herald. In 1895, the moved to a building in Mitchell Street designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In 1980, the moved to offices in Albion Street in Glasgow into the former Scottish Daily Express building. It is now based at in a building in Renfield Street. One of the most traumatic episodes in the history of The Herald was the battle for control, millionaires Hugh Fraser and Roy Thomson, whose newspaper empire included The Heralds archrival, The Scotsman, fought for control of the title for 52 days. Sir Hugh Fraser was to win, the papers then editor James Holburn was a disapproving onlooker The Labour Party condemned the battle as big business at its worst. The newspaper changed its name to The Herald on 3 February 1992, dropping Glasgow from its title and that same year the title was bought by Caledonia Newspaper Publishing & Glasgow. In 1996 was purchased by Scottish Television, as of 2013 the newspaper along with its related publications, the Evening Times and Sunday Herald, were owned by the Newsquest media group
18.
The Sunday Times
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The Sunday Times is the largest-selling British national newspaper in the quality press market category. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, Times Newspapers also publishes The Times. The two papers were founded independently and have been under common ownership only since 1966 and they were bought by News International in 1981. The Sunday Times occupies a dominant position in the quality Sunday market, its circulation of just under one million equals that of its rivals, The Sunday Telegraph and The Observer. While some other national newspapers moved to a format in the early 2000s. It sells more than twice as many copies as its sister paper, The Times, the Sunday Times has acquired a reputation for the strength of its investigative reporting – much of it by its award-winning Insight team – and also for its wide-ranging foreign coverage. It has a number of writers, columnists and commentators including Jeremy Clarkson. It was Britains first multi-section newspaper and remains substantially larger than its rivals, a typical edition contains the equivalent of 450 to 500 tabloid pages. Besides the main section, it has standalone News Review, Business, Sport, Money. There are three magazines and two tabloid supplements and it publishes The Sunday Times Bestseller List of books in Britain, and a list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, focusing on UK companies. It also organises The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, held annually, and The Sunday Times Festival of Education, the paper began publication on 18 February 1821 as The New Observer, but from 21 April its title was changed to the Independent Observer. On 20 October 1822 it was reborn as The Sunday Times, in January 1823, White sold the paper to Daniel Whittle Harvey, a radical politician. The paper was bought in 1887 by Alice Cornwell, whose father George Cornwell made a fortune in mining in Australia and she then sold it in 1893 to Frederick Beer, who already owned Observer. Beer appointed his wife, Rachel Sassoon Beer, as editor and she was already editor of Observer – the first woman to run a national newspaper – and continued to edit both titles until 1901. There was a change of ownership in 1903, and then in 1915 the paper was bought by William Berry and his brother, Gomer Berry, later ennobled as Lord Camrose. In 1943, the Kemsley Newspapers Group was established, with The Sunday Times becoming its flagship paper, at this time, Kemsley was the largest newspaper group in Britain. On 12 November 1945, Ian Fleming, who later created James Bond, joined the paper as foreign manager, the following month, circulation reached 500,000. On 28 September 1958 the paper launched a separate Review section, in 1959 the Kemsley group was bought by Lord Thomson, and in October 1960 circulation reached one million for the first time
19.
The Times
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The Times is a British daily national newspaper based in London, England. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register, the Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, itself wholly owned by News Corp. The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1967 and its news and its editorial comment have in general been carefully coordinated, and have at most times been handled with an earnest sense of responsibility. While the paper has admitted some trivia to its columns, its emphasis has been on important public affairs treated with an eye to the best interests of Britain. To guide this treatment, the editors have for long periods been in touch with 10 Downing Street. In these countries, the newspaper is often referred to as The London Times or The Times of London, although the newspaper is of national scope, in November 2006 The Times began printing headlines in a new font, Times Modern. The Times was printed in broadsheet format for 219 years, the Sunday Times remains a broadsheet. The Times had a daily circulation of 446,164 in December 2016, in the same period. An American edition of The Times has been published since 6 June 2006 and it has been heavily used by scholars and researchers because of its widespread availability in libraries and its detailed index. A complete historical file of the paper, up to 2010, is online from Gale Cengage Learning. The Times was founded by publisher John Walter on 1 January 1785 as The Daily Universal Register, Walter had lost his job by the end of 1784 after the insurance company where he was working went bankrupt because of the complaints of a Jamaican hurricane. Being unemployed, Walter decided to set a new business up and it was in that time when Henry Johnson invented the logography, a new typography that was faster and more precise. Walter bought the patent and to use it, he decided to open a printing house. The first publication of the newspaper The Daily Universal Register in Great Britain was 1 January 1785, unhappy because people always omitted the word Universal, Ellias changed the title after 940 editions on 1 January 1788 to The Times. In 1803, Walter handed ownership and editorship to his son of the same name, the Times used contributions from significant figures in the fields of politics, science, literature, and the arts to build its reputation. For much of its life, the profits of The Times were very large. Beginning in 1814, the paper was printed on the new steam-driven cylinder press developed by Friedrich Koenig, in 1815, The Times had a circulation of 5,000. Thomas Barnes was appointed editor in 1817
20.
The Scotsman
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The Scotsman is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website published from Edinburgh. It was a broadsheet until 16 August 2004, the Scotsman Publications Ltd also issues the Edinburgh Evening News and the Herald & Post series of free newspapers in Edinburgh, Fife, and West Lothian. As of February 2016, it had a print circulation of 22,740, with a full-price paid-for circulation of 61. 6% of this figure. Scotsman. com websites, including the site, job site, property site, mobile site. The paper was pledged to impartiality, firmness and independence, after the abolition of newspaper stamp tax in Scotland in 1850, The Scotsman was relaunched as a daily newspaper priced at 1d and a circulation of 6,000 copies. Their premises were originally at 257 High Street on the Royal Mile, in 1860 they obtained a purpose built office on Cockburn Street in Edinburgh designed in the Scots baronial style by the architects Peddie & Kinnear. This backed onto their original offices on the Royal Mile, the building bears the initials JR for John Ritchie the founder of the company. In 1902 they moved to new offices at the top of the street, facing onto North Bridge. This huge building had three years to build and also had connected printworks on Market Street. The printworks connected below road level direct to Waverley Station in an efficient production line. In 1953 the newspaper was bought by Canadian millionaire Roy Thomson who was in the process of building a media group. The paper was bought in 1995 by David and Frederick Barclay for £85 million, the daily was awarded by the Society for News Design the World’s Best Designed Newspaper™ for 1994. Ian Stewart has been the editor since June 2012, after a reshuffle of senior management in April 2012 during which John McLellan who was the papers editor-in-chief was dismissed, ian Stewart was previously editor of Edinburgh Evening News and remains as the editor of Scotland on Sunday. In 2012, The Scotsman was named Newspaper of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards, Johnston Press have downsized to refurbished premises at Orchard Brae House in Queensferry Road, Edinburgh, a move which was quoted as saving the group £1million per annum in rent. The newspaper backed a No vote in the referendum on Scottish independence and it has had live webcams and panoramas around Scotland. It also has sections for other Scotsman Publications including Scotland on Sunday, List of newspapers in Scotland List of newspapers by date Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. The worlds great dailies, profiles of fifty newspapers pp 273–79 Official website The Scotsman Digital Archive 1817-1950 Johnston Press Comprehensive Design Architects
21.
Timeline of Edinburgh history
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This article is a timeline of the history of Edinburgh, Scotland, up to the present day. It traces its rise from a hill fort and later royal residence to the bustling city. Pre-1st century AD, Late Bronze Age weapons were found in Duddingston Loch in 1778, traces of four Iron Age forts have been identified at Arthurs Seat, Dunsapie Crag, Salisbury Crags and Samsons Ribs. 2nd century AD, Roman forts were built and manned at Cramond, C.600, The traditional date of the military campaign, starting out from Edinburgh, commemorated in the Old Welsh poem Y Gododdin by the poet Aneirin. At this time the inhabitants of the region spoke predominantly Old Welsh, the name of the king or chief whom the poem names as the leader of the Gododdin was Mynyddawc Mwynvawr. C.638, Edinburgh is besieged by forces, according to a chronicle kept at Iona in the Hebrides.960. Giles 1874, Heart of Midlothian F. C. formed 1875,2013, To mark the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden, a minutes silence for the towns dead was observed at the Mercat Cross on 8 September. Michael Lynch, Oxford University Press,2001 The Making of Scotland, Robin Smith, Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1403-1528, edited by J. D. Marwick for the Burgh Records Society Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh
22.
Mary, Queen of Scots
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Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, reigned over Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567. Mary, the surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, was six days old when her father died. She spent most of her childhood in France while Scotland was ruled by regents and he ascended the French throne as King Francis II in 1559, and Mary briefly became queen consort of France, until his death in December 1560. Widowed, Mary returned to Scotland, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561, four years later, she married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, but their union was unhappy. In February 1567, his residence was destroyed by an explosion, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was generally believed to have orchestrated Darnleys death, but he was acquitted of the charge in April 1567, and the following month he married Mary. Following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle, on 24 July 1567, she was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI, her one-year-old son by Darnley. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, she fled southwards seeking the protection of her first cousin once removed, perceiving her as a threat, Elizabeth had her confined in various castles and manor houses in the interior of England. After eighteen and a half years in custody, Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth in 1586 and was beheaded the following year. Mary was born on 7 or 8 December 1542 at Linlithgow Palace, Scotland, to King James V and his French second wife and she was said to have been born prematurely and was the only legitimate child of James to survive him. She was the great-niece of King Henry VIII of England, as her paternal grandmother, Margaret Tudor, was Henry VIIIs sister. A popular legend, first recorded by John Knox, states that James, hearing on his deathbed that his wife had given birth to a daughter, ruefully exclaimed, It cam wi a lass and it will gang wi a lass. His House of Stewart had gained the throne of Scotland by the marriage of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce, to Walter Stewart, the crown had come to his family through a woman, and would be lost from his family through a woman. This legendary statement came true much later—not through Mary, but through her descendant Queen Anne, Mary was baptised at the nearby Church of St Michael shortly after she was born. As Mary was an infant when she inherited the throne, Scotland was ruled by regents until she became an adult. From the outset, there were two claims to the Regency, one from Catholic Cardinal Beaton, and the other from the Protestant Earl of Arran, Beatons claim was based on a version of the late kings will that his opponents dismissed as a forgery. Arran, with the support of his friends and relations, became the regent until 1554 when Marys mother managed to remove and succeed him. King Henry VIII of England took the opportunity of the regency to propose marriage between Mary and his own son, Prince Edward, hoping for a union of Scotland and England. The treaty provided that the two countries would remain separate and that if the couple should fail to have children the temporary union would dissolve
23.
Greyfriars Kirk
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Greyfriars Kirk, today Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, is a parish kirk of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk stands on the site of an establishment of the Franciscan order. It is one of the oldest surviving buildings built outside the Old Town of Edinburgh, having begun in 1602. It sits to the south of the Grassmarket, adjacent to the rear of George Heriots School, for many years, Greyfriars Kirk was divided into two places of worship – Old Greyfriars and New Greyfriars. Greyfriars Kirk has an important place in the history of the Scottish Covenanters, in 1638 the National Covenant was presented and signed in front of the pulpit. In 1679, some 1,200 Covenanters were imprisoned in the Kirkyard pending trial, in 1845 a fire destroyed the furnishings and the roof. In the mid 19th century, the Rev and he received considerable criticism at the time, but most of his proposals were subsequently widely accepted in the Church of Scotland. In late September 1912, over a people, many of them from Ulster. The Covenant bitterly opposed the Third Home Rule Bill, and thus opposed Home Rule for Ireland, the two congregations united in 1929 and the historic church building was subsequently extensively restored. The interior dividing wall between the two former separate sanctuaries was removed as part of renovations, completed in 1938. When they were completed the vault containing the family of Lauder of that Ilk found itself located in the rather than within part of the church proper. In 1979 the congregation united with the former Highland Tolbooth St Johns Church on the Royal Mile and this is the only Church of Scotland congregation in the east of Scotland with regular services in Gaelic. The current minister is the Reverend Dr Richard Frazer, Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk is part of a Local Ecumenical Partnership with St Columbas-by-the-Castle and Augustine United Church. The graveyard surrounding the church, Greyfriars Kirkyard, is in the hands of a separate trust, numerous well known people are buried in this graveyard including Lord Monboddo and his daughter Eliza. For many, the graveyard is associated with Greyfriars Bobby, the dog who guarded his masters grave
24.
Burke and Hare murders
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The Burke and Hare murders were a series of 16 murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The killings were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Doctor Robert Knox for dissection at his anatomy lectures. Edinburgh was a leading European centre of study in the early 19th century. Scottish law required that corpses used for medical research should only come from those who had died in prison, suicide victims, or from foundlings, the shortage of corpses led to an increase in grave robbing by what were known as resurrection men. Measures to ensure graves were left undisturbed exacerbated the shortage, when a lodger in Hares house died, he turned to his friend Burke for advice and they decided to sell the body to Knox. They received what was, for them, the sum of £7 10s. A little over two months later, when Hare was concerned that a lodger suffering from fever would deter others from staying in the house, he and Burke murdered her, the men continued their murder spree, probably with the knowledge of their wives. Burke and Hares actions were uncovered after other lodgers discovered their last victim, Margaret Docherty, a forensic examination of Dochertys body indicated she had probably been suffocated, but it could not be proven. Although the police suspected the men of other murders, there was no evidence on which they could take action, an offer was put to Hare granting immunity from prosecution if he turned kings evidence. He provided the details of Dochertys murder and confessed to all 16 deaths, formal charges were made against Burke, at the subsequent trial Burke was found guilty of one murder and sentenced to death. The case against his wife was found not proven—a Scottish legal verdict to acquit an individual, Burke was hanged shortly afterwards, his corpse was dissected and his skeleton displayed at the Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh Medical School where, as of 2017, it remains. The murders raised public awareness of the need for bodies for medical research, the events have made appearances in literature, and been portrayed on screen, either in heavily fictionalised accounts or as the inspiration for fictional works. Because of their efforts, Edinburgh became one of the leading European centres of study, alongside Leiden in the Netherlands. The teaching of anatomy—crucial in the study of surgery—required a sufficient supply of cadavers, Scottish law determined that suitable corpses on which to undertake the dissections were those who died in prison, suicide victims, and the bodies of foundlings and orphans. The situation was confused by the legal position, disturbing a grave was a criminal offence, as was the taking of property from the deceased. Stealing the body was not an offence, as it did not legally belong to anyone, the price per corpse changed depending on the season. By the 1820s the residents of Edinburgh had taken to the streets to protest at the increase in grave robbing, other families used a mortsafe, an iron cage that surrounded the coffin. Knox was an anatomist who had qualified as a doctor in 1814, after contracting smallpox as a child, he was blind in one eye and badly disfigured
25.
Kingdom of Scotland
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The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843, which joined with the Kingdom of England to form a unified Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the third of the island of Great Britain. It suffered many invasions by the English, but under Robert I it fought a war of independence. In 1603, James VI of Scotland became King of England, in 1707, the two kingdoms were united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain under the terms of the Acts of Union. The Crown was the most important element of government, the Scottish monarchy in the Middle Ages was a largely itinerant institution, before Edinburgh developed as a capital city in the second half of the 15th century. The Scottish Crown adopted the conventional offices of western European courts, Parliament also emerged as a major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy, but was never as central to the national life as its counterpart in England. In the 17th century, the creation of Justices of Peace, the continued existence of courts baron and the introduction of kirk sessions helped consolidate the power of local lairds. Scots law developed into a system in the Middle Ages and was reformed and codified in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under James IV the legal functions of the council were rationalised, in 1532, the College of Justice was founded, leading to the training and professionalisation of lawyers. David I is the first Scottish king known to have produced his own coinage, Early Scottish coins were virtually identical in silver content to English ones, but from about 1300 their silver content began to depreciate more rapidly than the English coins. At the union of the Crowns in 1603 the Scottish pound was fixed at only one-twelfth the value of the English pound, the Bank of Scotland issued pound notes from 1704. Scottish currency was abolished by the Act of Union, Scotland is half the size of England and Wales in area, but has roughly the same length of coastline. Geographically Scotland is divided between the Highlands and Islands and the Lowlands, the Highlands had a relatively short growing season, which was further shortened during the Little Ice Age. From Scotlands foundation to the inception of the Black Death, the population had grown to a million, following the plague and it expanded in the first half of the 16th century, reaching roughly 1.2 million by the 1690s. Significant languages in the kingdom included Gaelic, Old English, Norse and French. Christianity was introduced into Scotland from the 6th century, in the Norman period the Scottish church underwent a series of changes that led to new monastic orders and organisation. During the 16th century, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation that created a predominately Calvinist national kirk, there were a series of religious controversies that resulted in divisions and persecutions. The Scottish Crown developed naval forces at various points in its history, Land forces centred around the large common army, but adopted European innovations from the 16th century, and many Scots took service as mercenaries and as soldiers for the English Crown
26.
Acts of Union 1707
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The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament, the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had agreed on 22 July 1706. Although described as a Union of Crowns, until 1707 there were in two separate Crowns resting on the same head. The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707, on this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of the English Parliament. Hence, the Acts are referred to as the Union of the Parliaments, on the Union, the historian Simon Schama said What began as a hostile merger, would end in a full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world. It was one of the most astonishing transformations in European history, the first attempts at Union surrounded the foreseen unification of the Royal lines of Scotland and England. In pursuing the English throne in the 1560s, Mary, Queen of Scots pledged herself to a union between the two kingdoms. England and Scotland were ruled by the king for the first time in 1603 when James VI of Scotland also became the king of England. However they remained two separate states until 1 May 1707, the first attempt to unite the parliaments of England and Scotland was by Marys son, King James VI and I. On his accession to the English throne in 1603 King James announced his intention to unite his two realms so that he would not be guilty of bigamy. James used his prerogative powers to take the style of King of Great Britain and to give an explicitly British character to his court. In the meantime, James declared that Great Britain be viewed as presently united, and as one realm and kingdom, the Scottish and English parliaments established a commission to negotiate a union, formulating an instrument of union between the two countries. However, the idea of union was unpopular, and when James dropped his policy of a speedy union. When the House of Commons attempted to revive the proposal in 1610, the ordinance was ratified by the Second Protectorate Parliament, as an Act of Union, on 26 June 1657. One united Parliament sat in Westminster, with 30 representatives from Scotland and 30 from Ireland joining the members from England. Whilst free trade was brought about amongst the new Commonwealth, the benefits were generally not felt as a result of heavy taxation used to fund Cromwells New Model Army. This republican union was dissolved automatically with the restoration of King Charles II to the thrones of England and Scotland, Scottish members expelled from the Commonwealth Parliament petitioned unsuccessfully for a continuance of the union. An abortive scheme for union occurred in Scotland in 1670, following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the records of the Parliament of Scotland show much discussion of possible union
27.
Parliament of Scotland
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The Parliament of Scotland, or Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The parliament, like other such institutions, evolved during the Middle Ages from the council of bishops. It is first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II, by the early fourteenth century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and from 1326 commissioners from the burghs attended. Parliamentary business was carried out by sister institutions, such as General Councils or Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making –, the Parliament of Scotland met for more than four centuries, until it was prorogued sine die at the time of the Acts of Union in 1707. Thereafter the Parliament of Great Britain operated for both England and Scotland, thus creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain, when the Parliament of Ireland was abolished in 1801, its former members were merged into what was now called the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Later, the bishops themselves were removed from the Church of Scotland during the Glorious Revolution, the Second Estate was then split into two to retain the division into three. From the 16th century, the estate was reorganised by the selection of Shire Commissioners. During the 17th century, after the Union of the Crowns and these latter identifications remain highly controversial among parliamentary historians. Regardless, the used for the assembled members continued to be the Three Estates. A Shire Commissioner was the closest equivalent of the English office of Member of Parliament, because the parliament of Scotland was unicameral, all members sat in the same chamber, as opposed to the separate English House of Lords and House of Commons. The Scottish parliament evolved during the Middle Ages from the Kings Council and it is perhaps first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, described as a colloquium and already with a political and judicial role. In 1296 we have the first mention of burgh representatives taking part in decision making, by the early 14th century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and Robert the Bruce began regularly calling burgh commissioners to his Parliament. Consisting of The Three Estates – of clerics, lay Tenants-in-chief and burgh commissioners – sitting in a single chamber, parliamentary business was also carried out by sister institutions, before c.1500 by General Council and thereafter by the Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by Parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making –, the Scottish parliament met in a number of different locations throughout its history. In addition to Edinburgh, meetings were held in Perth, Stirling, St Andrews, Dundee, Linlithgow, Dunfermline, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Berwick-upon-Tweed. From the early 1450s until 1690, a deal of the legislative business of the Scottish Parliament was usually carried out by a parliamentary committee known as the Lords of the Articles. This was a chosen by the three estates to draft legislation which was then presented to the full assembly to be confirmed
28.
David Hume
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David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, who is best known today for his highly influential system of radical philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. Humes empiricist approach to philosophy places him with John Locke, Francis Bacon, beginning with his A Treatise of Human Nature, Hume strove to create a total naturalistic science of man that examined the psychological basis of human nature. Humes compatibilist theory of free will takes causal determinism as fully compatible with human freedom, Kant himself credited Hume as the spur to his philosophical thought who had awakened him from his dogmatic slumbers. Arthur Schopenhauer once declared there is more to be learned from each page of David Hume than from the collected philosophical works of Hegel, Herbart. Hume is thus regarded as a pivotal figure in the history of philosophical thought. David Hume was the second of two born to Joseph Home of Ninewells, an advocate, and his wife The Hon. Katherine. He was born on 26 April 1711 in a tenement on the side of the Lawnmarket in Edinburgh. Humes father died when Hume was a child, just after his birthday, and he was raised by his mother. He changed the spelling of his name in 1734, because of the fact that his surname Home, throughout his life Hume, who never married, spent time occasionally at his family home at Ninewells in Berwickshire, which had belonged to his family since the sixteenth century. His finances as a man were very slender. His family was not rich and, as a younger son and he was therefore forced to make a living somehow. Hume attended the University of Edinburgh at the early age of twelve at a time when fourteen was normal. He had little respect for the professors of his time, telling a friend in 1735 that there is nothing to be learnt from a Professor, which is not to be met with in Books. Aged around 18, he made a discovery that opened up to him a new Scene of Thought. He did not recount what this scene was, and commentators have offered a variety of speculations, due to this inspiration, Hume set out to spend a minimum of ten years reading and writing. He soon came to the verge of a breakdown, suffering from what a doctor diagnosed as the Disease of the Learned. Hume wrote that it started with a coldness, which he attributed to a Laziness of Temper, later, some scurvy spots broke out on his fingers. This was what persuaded Humes physician to make his diagnosis, Hume wrote that he went under a Course of Bitters and Anti-Hysteric Pills, taken along with a pint of claret every day
29.
Holyrood Abbey
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Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I, during the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded further. The abbey church was used as a church until the 17th century. The remaining walls of the abbey lie adjacent to the palace, the site of the abbey is protected as a scheduled monument. Rood is an old word for the cross which Jesus Christ was crucified upon, thus the name Holyrood is equivalent to Holy Cross. Legend relates that in 1127, while King David I was hunting in the forests to the east of Edinburgh during the Feast of the Cross, as an act of thanksgiving for his escape, David I founded Holyrood Abbey on the site in 1128. In the church was preserved, in a reliquary, the fragment of the True Cross brought by Davids mother, St. Margaret, from Waltham Abbey. At the battle of Nevilles Cross, in 1346, this precious relic fell into the hands of the English, in 1177 the papal legate Vivian held council here. In 1189 the nobles and prelates of Scotland met here to discuss raising a ransom for William the Lion, the original abbey church of Holyrood was largely reconstructed between 1195 and 1230. The completed building consisted of a six-bay aisled choir, three-bay transepts with a tower above. Some scholars believe the high vaults to be sexpartite a design that was probably archaic at the period and they were probably plastered, with exposed thin ribs. Among the chief benefactors of Holyrood during the four centuries of its existence as a house were Kings David I and II, Robert, Bishop of St. Andrews. The Parliament of Scotland met at the abbey in 1256,1285,1327,1366,1384,1389 and 1410, in 1326 Robert the Bruce held parliament here and there is evidence that Holyrood was being used as a royal residence by 1329. The Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, which brought an end to the First War of Scottish Independence, was signed by Robert I in the Kings Chamber at Holyrood in March 1328. The abbeys position close to Edinburgh Castle meant that it was visited by Scotlands kings. James II and his twin brother Alexander, Duke of Rothesay, were there in October 1430. James was also crowned at Holyrood in 1437 and building works were carried out before his marriage there in 1449, between 1498 and 1501, James IV constructed a royal palace at Holyrood, adjacent to the abbey cloister. Royal influence over the abbey further increased when in 1538 Robert Stewart, during the War of the Rough Wooing, the invading English armies of the Earl of Hertford inflicted structural damage on Holyrood Abbey in 1544 and 1547
30.
Treaty of Edinburgh
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The rule of Mary of Guise in Scotland was supported by French troops. Scottish Protestants challenged her rule in the Reformation Crisis, during the ensuing Siege of Leith, French troops fortified the port and town of Leith against an English and Scottish Protestant force. The English army was invited into Scotland by the Treaty of Berwick made by the Lords of the Congregation, remains of an artillery fort involved in the siege were found, in 2006, in Edinburghs Pilrig Park, and two gun emplacements can be seen on Leith Links. The treaty was concluded on 6 July 1560 just short of a month after the death of Mary of Guise, the fortifications at Leith, Inchkeith and Dunbar Castle were duly removed, and the French garrisons left Scotland. Other conditions discussed involved the joint use of English and French heraldry by Mary, the representatives were Jean de Monluc, Bishop of Valence, and Charles de la Rochefoucault, Sieur de Randan, for France, with William Cecil and Nicholas Wotton, Dean of Canterbury and York. The French delegation was also permitted to meet and console the bereaved ladies-in-waiting of Mary of Guises court, the cessation of hostilities during the negotiation was marked by two cannon shots from Edinburgh Castle at 7 oclock in the evening of Monday 17 June. It was agreed between France and England that all their land and naval forces would withdraw from Scotland, Mary and Francis II of France should not use the arms and signs of England and Ireland in their heraldry. Mary and Francis would fulfill the representations made by the nobility, the terms of this treaty are occasionally confused with the acts of the Reformation Parliament of 1560 which met in August, and sought to establish the Protestant church in Scotland. However the treaty was not ratified by Mary I, the monarch at the time. Even so, it had the effect of the withdrawal of French troops from Scotland at the time. She also did not ratify the treaty because it officially declared Elizabeth the monarch of England, the Gowrie Regime attempted to ratify the treaty in April 1583. List of treaties Text of Treaty from Haynes, Salisbury-Hatfield Mss, rymer, Thomas, ed. Foedera, conventiones, literae et cujuscunque generis acta publica inter reges Angliae et alios. Texts of the Treaty, pp.581 French commission, pp. 591–3 Order for the demolition of Leith, pp. 593–7 Latin treaty, bain, J. ed. Calendar of the State Papers relating to Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots 1547–1603
31.
Old Town, Edinburgh
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The Old Town is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotlands capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th-century New Town, it part of a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. Narrow closes, often no more than a few feet wide, the area has a number of underground vaults and hidden passages that are relics of previous phases of construction. No part of the street is officially called The Royal Mile in terms of legal addresses, the actual street names are Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate and Abbey Strand. This crag and tail landform was created during the last ice age when receding glaciers scoured across the land pushing soft soil aside, the hilltop crag was the earliest part of the city to develop, becoming fortified and eventually developing into the current Edinburgh Castle. The rest of the city grew slowly down the tail of land from the Castle Rock and this was an easily defended spot with marshland on the south and a man-made loch, the Nor Loch, on the north. Access up the road to the settlement was therefore restricted by means of various gates. The original strong linear spine of the Royal Mile only had narrow closes and these began to be supplemented from the late 18th century with wide new north–south routes, beginning with the North Bridge/South Bridge route, and then George IV Bridge. The Edinburgh City Improvement Act of 1866 further added to the north south routes and this was devised by the architects David Cousin and John Lessels. It had quite radical effects, St Marys Wynd was demolished and replaced by the much wider St Marys Street with all new buildings, Leith Wynd which descended from the High Street to the Low Calton was demolished. Jeffrey Street started from Leith Wynds junction with the High Street, opposite St Marys Street, east Market Street was built to connect Market Street and New Street. Blackfriars Street was created by the widening of Blackfriars Wynd, removing all the buildings on the east side, Chambers Street was created, replacing N College Street and removing Brown Square and Adam Square. It was named after the then Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir William Chambers, guthrie Street was created, linking the new Chambers Street to the Cowgate. Multi-storey dwellings became the norm from the 16th century onwards, the construction of new streets including North Bridge and South Bridge in the 18th century also created underground spaces, such as the Edinburgh Vaults below the latter. Traditionally buildings were less dense in the eastern, Canongate, section and this area underwent major slum clearance and reconstruction in the 1950s, thereafter becoming an area largely of Council housing. Further Council housing was built on the fringe of the Canongate in the 1960s and 1970s in an area generally called Dumbiedykes. From 1990 to 2010 major new housing schemes appeared throughout the Canongate and these were built to a much higher scale than the traditional buildings and have greatly increased the population of the area
32.
New Town, Edinburgh
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The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning and and it was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of the original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its most famous street is Princes Street, facing Edinburgh Castle, the Age of Enlightenment had arrived in Edinburgh, and the outdated city fabric did not suit the professional and merchant classes who lived there. A scheme to drain the Loch was put into action, although the process was not fully completed until 1817. Crossing points were built to access the new land, the North Bridge in 1772, and the Earthen Mound, the Mound, as it is known today, reached its present proportions in the 1830s. As the successive stages of the New Town were developed, the rich moved northwards from cramped tenements in narrow closes into grand Georgian homes on wide roads, however, the poor remained in the Old Town. A design competition was held in January 1766 to find a modern layout for the new suburb. It was won by 26-year-old James Craig, who, following the contours of the land, proposed a simple axial grid. Two other main roads were located downhill to the north and south with two streets between. Several mews off the streets provided stable lanes for the large homes. Completing the grid are three cross streets. Craigs original plan has not survived but it has suggested that it is indicated on a map published by John Laurie in 1766. This map shows a layout with a central square reflecting a new era of civic Hanoverian British patriotism by echoing the design of the Union Flag. Both Princes Street and Queen Street are shown as double sided, a simpler revised design reflected the same spirit in the names of its streets and civic spaces. The principal street was named George Street, after the king at the time, Queen Street was to be located to the north, named after his wife, and St. Giles Street to the south, after the citys patron saint. St. Andrews Square and St. Georges Square were the chosen to represent the union of Scotland and England. The idea was continued with the smaller Thistle Street between George Street and Queen Street, and Rose Street between George Street and Princes Street. King George rejected the name St. Giles Street, St Giles being the saint of lepers
33.
Robert Adam
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Robert Adam FRSE FRS FSA FSA FRSA was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam, Scotlands foremost architect of the time, with his older brother John, Robert took on the family business, which included lucrative work for the Board of Ordnance, after Williams death. In 1754, he left for Rome, spending five years on the continent studying architecture under Charles-Louis Clérisseau. On his return to Britain he established a practice in London, here he developed the Adam Style, and his theory of movement in architecture, based on his studies of antiquity and became one of the most successful and fashionable architects in the country. Adam held the post of Architect of the Kings Works from 1761 to 1769, Robert Adam was a leader of the first phase of the classical revival in England and Scotland from around 1760 until his death. He influenced the development of Western architecture, both in Europe and in North America, Adam designed interiors and fittings as well as houses. He served as the member of Parliament for Kinross-shire from 1768 to 1774, Adam was born on 3 July 1728 at Gladney House in Kirkcaldy, Fife, although the family moved to Edinburgh later that same year. As a child he was noted as having a feeble constitution, in autumn 1743 he matriculated at Edinburgh University, and compulsory classes for all students were, the Greek language, logic, metaphysics and Natural philosophy. Students could choose three subjects, Adam attended classes in mathematics, taught by Colin Maclaurin, and anatomy. His studies were interrupted by the arrival of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Highlanders, at the end of the year, Robert fell seriously ill for some months, and it seems unlikely that he returned to university, having completed only two years of study. On his recovery from illness in 1746, he joined his elder brother John as apprentice to his father and he assisted William Adam on projects such as the building of Inveraray Castle and the continuing extensions of Hopetoun House. Williams position as Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance also began to generate much work, William Adam died in June 1748, and left Dowhill, a part of the Blair Adam estate which included a tower house, to Robert. On William Adams death, John Adam inherited both the business and the position of Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance. He immediately took Robert into partnership, later to be joined by James Adam, the Adam Brothers first major commission was the decoration of the grand state apartments on the first floor at Hopetoun House, followed by their first new build at Dumfries House. For the Board of Ordnance, the brothers were the contractor at Fort George. In the winter of 1749–1750, Adam travelled to London with his friend and he took the opportunity for architectural study, visiting Wilton, designed by Inigo Jones, and the Queens Hermitage in Richmond by Roger Morris. His sketchbook of the trip shows an continuing interest in gothic architecture. Among his friends at Edinburgh were the philosophers Adam Ferguson and David Hume, other Edinburgh acquaintances included Gilbert Elliot, William Wilkie, John Home and Alexander Wedderburn
34.
James Craig (architect)
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James Craig was a Scottish architect who worked mostly in lowlands of the country and especially his native city of Edinburgh. He is remembered primarily for his layout of the first Edinburgh New Town, James Craigs birth date is traditionally given as 1744, as his baptism is recorded in parish register as Tuesday 13 November 1744. However, more recent research has shown that his date was 31 October 1739, as recorded in the registers of George Watsons Hospital. As well as his date of birth, the show he entered the school in 1748. The 1744 date must therefore be incorrect, as it would mean he started school aged four, the baptism year, although not the date, has been shown to be in error, as 13 November fell on a Tuesday in 1739 also. James Craig was the son of William Craig, a merchant, in later life, the architect was famous for being the nephew of the poet. He was also proud to be a Craig, and his seal bore the Craig arms. His father was William Craig, a son of Robert Craig, a businessman and successful local politician and he had eight siblings of whom James, John and Janet lived into later life, with other sisters Marion and Agnes also reaching adulthood. Witnesses to the births of Robert Craigs children denote his political and professional friends and these included politicians with links to the College and Town Council, and clergymen. From 1694 Robert Craig had trained to be a merchant in Edinburgh, though in late in life to do so, this decision was a good one as he and his elder brother, John Craig, who was a lawyer. Together the Craigs formed a partnership in managing money, loans, merchandise. The family legacy was that the architect James Craig inherited a family used to discussing and managing property planning and building, from being a burgess and guildbrother of Edinburgh and a church elder, by 1704 Robert had been elected to the citys Town Council. Within two years he was Edinburgh Colleges Treasurer, and then Baillie of Leith in 1707, an Edinburgh Baillie after 1708 and his rise was impressive enough to be elected a Governor of George Heriots Hospital in 1710. The very same year he was made a burgess of the burgh of Canongate, the next decade saw Robert Craigs political career continue to flourish. In 1713 he was elected Baron Baillie of Canongate, and from 1714 he became Edinburgh Town Councils moderator of stent tax, annually levied on property values, as Dean he held one of the top three posts in the Town Council beside the Treasurer and Lord Provost. He served a full term in this post until 1717. In this period, from 1714 to 1716, he was Edinburghs Commissioner of the General Convention of Royal Burghs, here he saw applications from other Scottish towns and cities to expand and improve through new harbours, bridges and roads. In his later years as an active politician until 1720 Robert Craig could be found in Town Council meetings and he oversaw tax collection, accounts, the citys market and property management
35.
Church of Scotland
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The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is the national church of Scotland. Protestant and Presbyterian, its decision to respect liberty of opinion in points which do not enter into the substance of the Faith. Means it is tolerant of a variety of theological positions, including those who would term themselves conservative and liberal in their doctrine, ethics. The Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, while the Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the earliest Christians in Scotland, its identity was principally shaped by the Scottish Reformation of 1560. At that point, many in the church in Scotland broke with Rome, in a process of Protestant reform led, among others. It reformed its doctrines and government, drawing on the principles of John Calvin which Knox had been exposed to living in Geneva. The 1560 Reformation Settlement was not ratified by the crown, as the monarch, Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, refused to do so, and the question of church government also remained unresolved. In 1572 the acts of 1560 were finally approved by the young King James VI, the son of Queen Mary, melville and his supporters enjoyed some temporary successes—most notably in the Golden Act of 1592, which gave parliamentary approval to Presbyterian courts. By the time he died in 1625, the Church of Scotland had a panel of bishops and archbishops. General Assemblies met only at times and places approved by the Crown, Charles I inherited a settlement in Scotland based on a balanced compromise between Calvinist doctrine and episcopal practice. Lacking the political judgement of his father, he began to upset this by moving into dangerous areas. Disapproving of the plainness of the Scottish service he, together with his Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, the centrepiece of this new strategy was the Prayer Book of 1637, a slightly modified version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Although this was devised by a panel of Scottish bishops, Charles insistence that it be drawn up in secret, when the Prayer Book was finally introduced at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh in mid-1637 it caused an outbreak of rioting, which spread across Scotland. In November 1638, the General Assembly in Glasgow, the first to meet for twenty years, not only declared the Prayer Book unlawful, the Church of Scotland was then established on a Presbyterian basis. Charles attempt at resistance to these developments led to the outbreak of the Bishops Wars, in the ensuing civil wars, the Scots Covenanters at one point made common cause with the English parliamentarians—resulting in the Westminster Confession of Faith being agreed by both. This document remains the standard of the Church of Scotland. Episcopacy was reintroduced to Scotland after the Restoration, the cause of discontent, especially in the south-west of the country. To reduce their influence the Scots Parliament guaranteed Presbyterian governance of the Church by law, controversy still surrounded the relationship between the Church of Scotlands independence and the civil law of Scotland
36.
Disruption of 1843
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It came at the end of a bitter conflict within the established Church, and had huge effects not only within the Church, but also upon Scottish civic life. To some extent, this right was recognised by the Claim of Right of 1689 and this was ratified by the Act of Union in 1707. As early as 1712 this right of patronage had been restored in Scotland, for many years afterwards the General Assembly sought redress of the grievance, but the dominant moderate party within the church acted in such a way as to avoid any confrontation with the state. In 1834, however, the Evangelical party attained a majority in the General Assembly for the first time in a century, one of their actions was to pass the Veto Act, which gave parishioners the right to reject a minister nominated by their patron. The intention was to prevent the intrusion of ministers on unwilling parishioners, but the effect of the act was to polarise positions in the church, and set it on a collision course with the state. The first test came with the Auchterarder case of 1834, the parish of Auchterarder unanimously rejected the patrons nominee – and the Presbytery refused to proceed with his ordination and induction. This directly contradicted the Churchs Confession of Faith and its own self-understanding, as Burleigh puts it The notion of the Church as an independent community governed by its own officers and capable of entering into a compact with the state was repudiated. The question now moved from the issue of patronage, to the issue of the Churchs spiritual independence, an appeal to the House of Lords was rejected. The Presbytery of Dunkeld was summoned before the Court of Session for proceeding with an ordination despite a court interdict, in 1839, the General Assembly suspended seven ministers from Strathbogie for proceeding with an induction in Marnoch in defiance of Assembly orders. In 1841, the seven were deposed for acknowledging the superiority of the court in spiritual matters. In response to the threat, the Evangelicals presented to parliament a Claim, Declaration and this was rejected in January 1843, leading to the Disruption in May of that year. A further meeting was held on 23 May for the Signing of the Act of Separation by the ministers, eventually 474 of the about 1200 ministers adhered. In leaving the established Church, however, they did not reject the principle of establishment, as Chalmers declared Though we quit the Establishment, we go out on the Establishment principle, we quit a vitiated Establishment but would rejoice in returning to a pure one. We are advocates for a recognition of religion – and we are not voluntaries. Perhaps a third of the Evangelicals, the Middle party, remained within the established Church – wishing to preserve its unity, but for those who left, the issue was clear. It was not the democratising of the Church, but whether the Church was sovereign within its own domain, jesus Christ and not the King or Parliament was to be its sole head. The Disruption was basically a spiritual phenomenon – and for its proponents it stood in a line with the Reformation. Splitting the Church had major implications and those who left forfeited livings, manses and pulpits, and had, without the aid of the establishment, to found and finance a national Church from scratch
37.
William Brodie
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By day, Brodie was a respectable tradesman and Deacon of the Incorporation of Wrights, the head of the Craft of Cabinetmaking, which made him a member of the Town Council. Part of his job as a cabinetmaker was to install and repair locks and he socialised with the gentry of Edinburgh, and met the poet Robert Burns and the painter Sir Henry Raeburn. He was a member of the Edinburgh Cape Club and was known as Sir Llyud, at night, however, Brodie became a burglar and thief. He used his job as a way to gain knowledge about the security mechanisms of his clients. As the foremost lockwright of the city, Brodie was asked to work in the houses of many of the richest members of Edinburgh society and he used the money he made dishonestly to maintain his second life, which included a gambling habit and five children to two mistresses. He reputedly began his career around 1768, when he copied keys to a bank door and stole £800. In 1786 he recruited a gang of three thieves, John Brown, George Smith and Andrew Ainslie, the case that led to Brodies downfall began later in 1788 when he organised an armed raid on an Excise office in Chessels Court on the Canongate. On the same night, Brown approached the authorities to claim a Kings Pardon, which had been offered after a previous robbery, Smith and Ainslie were arrested and the next day Brodie attempted to visit them in prison but was refused. The trial of Brodie and Smith started on 27 August 1788, at first there was no hard evidence against Brodie, although the tools of his criminal trade were found in his house and workshops. Brodie and Smith were hanged at the Old Tolbooth in the High Street on 1 October 1788, according to one tale, Brodie wore a steel collar and silver tube to prevent the hanging from being fatal. It was said that he had bribed the hangman to ignore it, Brodie was buried in an unmarked grave at the Buccleuch Church in Chapel Street. The ground is now covered by a car park behind university lecture-halls, however, rumours of his being seen in Paris circulated later and gave the story of his scheme to evade death further publicity. Popular myth holds that Deacon Brodie built the first gallows in Edinburgh and was also its first victim, Robert Louis Stevenson, whose father owned furniture made by Brodie, wrote a play entitled Deacon Brodie, or The Double Life, which was unsuccessful. However, Stevenson remained fascinated by the dichotomy between Brodies respectable façade and his nature and was inspired to write The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll. A pub in New York City carrying his name sits on the side of the famous west side 46th Street Restaurant Row between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue. Jean Brodie from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie claims to be descended from Deacon Brodie and his double life serves as a metaphor for the duplicity of Miss Brodie, as well as her self-imposed demise. A TV movie of the name was aired on 8 March 1997 on BBC1. Part of the Screen One season, it starred Billy Connolly and was made in Edinburgh, Deacon Brodie, Father to Jekyll and Hyde
38.
North British Railway
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The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick, the line opened in 1846, and from the outset the Company followed a policy of expanding its geographical area, and competing with the Caledonian Railway in particular. In doing so it committed huge sums of money, and in doing so incurred shareholder disapproval that resulted in two leaving the company. Nonetheless the Company successfully reached Carlisle, where it made a partnership with the Midland Railway. It also linked from Edinburgh to Perth and Dundee, but for years the journey involved a ferry crossing of the Forth. Eventually the North British built the Tay Bridge, but the structure collapsed as a train was crossing in high wind, the company survived the setback and opened a second Tay Bridge, followed soon by the Forth Bridge, which together transformed the railway network north of Edinburgh. Early on, mineral traffic became dominant and brought in more revenue than the passenger services. At the grouping of the railways in 1923, the North British Railway was the largest railway company in Scotland, in that year it was a constituent of the new London and North Eastern Railway. Early railways in Scotland had been involved with conveyance of minerals—chiefly coal. The opening of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1842 showed that a longer distance general purpose railway could be commercially successful, during the construction of the E&GR, the money market had eased somewhat and a rapid development of long distance railways took place in England. Scottish promoters began to consider how central Scotland could be connected to the growing English network, and it was assumed for some time that only a single route was commercially viable. During this frenzy, a group of businesspeople formed the North British Railway Company to build a line from Edinburgh to Berwick (later named Berwick-on-Tweed with a branch to Haddington and they got their authorising Act of Parliament in 1844. The Newcastle and Berwick Railway was building its line, and in time they would part of a through chain of railways between Edinburgh and London. However the Caledonian was unable to secure subscriptions to present a Parliamentary Bill in 1844. The Chairman of the North British Railway, John Learmonth, saw that capturing as much territory as possible for the North British was essential in the competitive struggle, in the 1845 session of Parliament Learmonth secured authorising Acts for numerous branch lines, mostly to forestall incursion by competitors. Also in the 1845 session, the Caledonian Railway was authorised, the Caledonian was to prove a bitter rival. The Edinburgh and Perth Railway failed to get Parliamentary authorisation, all these plans for expansion were committing huge sums of money even before the main line was ready. At last on 22 June 1846 the line to Berwick and Haddington was open to the public, there were five trains daily, with an additional ten short journeys between Edinburgh and Musselburgh
39.
Visit of King George IV to Scotland
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The 1822 visit of King George IV to Scotland was the first visit of a reigning monarch to Scotland in nearly two centuries. Government ministers had pressed the King to bring forward a proposed visit to Scotland, the visit increased his popularity in Scotland, turning his subjects away from the rebellious radicalism of the time. He was obese and was unpopular, with many offended by his treatment of his wife. Suffering from painful illness and pushed by opposing factions of diplomats and ministers, the King remained indecisive, walter Scott was author of the novel Waverley which popularised a romantic image of the Scottish Highlands. In 1815 this led to his being invited to dine with George, by 1822 Scott had become a baronet, and was well acquainted with both Highland and Lowland nobility. Kilts and tartans were used for army uniforms but were no longer ordinary Highland wear, soon after the Acts repeal in 1782, Highland aristocrats set up Highland Societies in Edinburgh and other centres including London and Aberdeen. These were landowners clubs with aims including Improvements and promoting the use of the ancient Highland dress by obliging members to wear this when attending meetings. A small committee was set up, with Scotts principal assistant being his friend Major General David Stewart of Garth who had made himself the authority on Highlanders with his Sketches. Scott brought the Highland societies and the Clan chieftains into arranging for a plaided pageantry, Garth now drilled the younger members of the Celtic Society into four companies as honour guards. Some chieftains took the event as a chance to show impressive forces and thus disprove allegations about the Highland Clearances, james Loch acting for the Countess of Sutherland solved the problem of finding kilts by borrowing army uniforms from the Sutherland Highlanders. Holyrood Palace had to be readied for state occasions, but was not in fit condition as a royal residence, by an old citizen, which gave an outline of planned events with detailed advice on behaviour and clothing. Andrews saltire on a blue background, at this, lowland gentlemen suddenly embarked on a desperate search for Highland ancestry and a suitable tartan kilt from the Edinburgh tailors, who responded inventively. This can be seen as the event when what had been thought of as the primitive dress of mountain thieves became the national dress of the whole of Scotland. The catering contract was won by Ebenezer Scroggie, who would become the inspiration for Charles Dickens character Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. The first of Scotts pageants took place on the Kings 60th birthday, in procession the Midlothian Yeomanry and companies of Highlanders escorted coaches carrying the Regalia of Scotland and dignitaries from the Castle to Holyrood Palace. After a pause, a Captain Ewan MacDougall persuaded the hot-tempered Glengarry to go away, watched by packed crowds, the procession formally received the regalia then returned down to The Mound and went down it to Princes Street and on by Calton Hill to Holyroodhouse. The Kings ship the Royal George arrived in the Firth of Forth about noon on Wednesday 14 August, but his landing was postponed due to torrential rain. On Thursday 15 August, the King in naval uniform arrived in sunshine at the quayside of The Shore, Leith, after fifteen minutes of the ritual salutations traditional in a royal entry he got in his carriage
40.
Walter Scott
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Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, FRSE was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. Many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature, famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. A prominent member of the Tory establishment in Edinburgh, Scott was an member of the Highland Society. He survived a bout of polio in 1773 that left him lame. To cure his lameness he was sent in 1773 to live in the rural Scottish Borders at his grandparents farm at Sandyknowe, adjacent to the ruin of Smailholm Tower. Here he was taught to read by his aunt Jenny, and learned from her the speech patterns and many of the tales and legends that characterised much of his work. In January 1775 he returned to Edinburgh, and that went with his aunt Jenny to take spa treatment at Bath in England. In the winter of 1776 he went back to Sandyknowe, with another attempt at a cure at Prestonpans during the following summer. In 1778, Scott returned to Edinburgh for private education to him for school. In October 1779 he began at the Royal High School of Edinburgh and he was now well able to walk and explore the city and the surrounding countryside. His reading included chivalric romances, poems, history and travel books and he was given private tuition by James Mitchell in arithmetic and writing, and learned from him the history of the Church of Scotland with emphasis on the Covenanters. Scott began studying classics at the University of Edinburgh in November 1783, at the age of 12, in March 1786 he began an apprenticeship in his fathers office to become a Writer to the Signet. While at the university Scott had become a friend of Adam Ferguson, Scott met the blind poet Thomas Blacklock, who lent him books and introduced him to James Macphersons Ossian cycle of poems. During the winter of 1786–87 the 15-year-old Scott saw Robert Burns at one of these salons, for what was to be their only meeting. When Burns noticed a print illustrating the poem The Justice of the Peace and asked who had written the poem, only Scott knew that it was by John Langhorne, and was thanked by Burns. When it was decided that he would become a lawyer, he returned to the university to study law, first taking classes in Moral Philosophy, after completing his studies in law, he became a lawyer in Edinburgh. As a lawyers clerk he made his first visit to the Scottish Highlands directing an eviction and he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1792. He had an unsuccessful love suit with Williamina Belsches of Fettercairn, as a boy, youth and young man, Scott was fascinated by the oral traditions of the Scottish Borders
41.
Edwin of Northumbria
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Edwin, also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627, after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, Edwin was the son of Ælle king of Deira and seems to have had two siblings. His sister Acha was married to Æthelfrith, king of neighbouring Bernicia, an otherwise unknown sibling fathered Hereric, who in turn fathered Abbess Hilda of Whitby and Hereswith, wife to Æthelric, the brother of king Anna of East Anglia. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reported that on Ælles death a certain Æthelric assumed power, the exact identity of Æthelric is uncertain. He may have been a brother of Ælle, a brother of Edwin. Æthelfrith himself appears to have been king of Northumbria—both Deira and Bernicia—by no later than 604, during the reign of Æthelfrith, Edwin was an exile. By the 610s he was certainly in Mercia under the protection of king Cearl, by around 616, Edwin was in East Anglia under the protection of king Raedwald. Bede reports that Æthelfrith tried to have Raedwald murder his rival. Æthelfrith faced Raedwald in battle by the River Idle in 616, Raedwalds son Raegenhere may have been killed at this battle, but the exact date or manner of Raedwalds death are not known. He likely died between the years 616–627, and the efficacy of Edwin’s kingship ostensibly depended greatly on his fealty to Raedwald, Edwin was installed as king of Northumbria, effectively confirming Raedwald as bretwalda, Æthelfriths sons went into exile in Irish Dál Riata and Pictland. Edwins reign marks an interruption of the otherwise consistent domination of Northumbria by the Bernicians and has seen as contrary to the prevailing tendency. Edwin expelled Ceretic from the minor British kingdom of Elmet in either 616 or 626, Elmet had probably been subject to Mercia and then to Edwin. The larger kingdom of Lindsey appears to have taken over c. 625, after the death of king Raedwald, Edwin and Eadbald of Kent were allies at this time, and Edwin arranged to marry Eadbalds sister Æthelburg. Bede notes that Eadbald would agree to marry his sister to Edwin only if he converted to Christianity, the marriage of Eadbalds Merovingian mother Bertha had resulted in the conversion of Kent and Æthelburgs would do the same in Northumbria. Edwins expansion to the west may have begun early in his reign, there is firm evidence of a war waged in the early 620s between Edwin and Fiachnae mac Báetáin of the Dál nAraidi, king of the Ulaid in Ireland. A lost poem is known to have existed recounting Fiachnaes campaigns against the Saxons, and this should presumably be placed in the context of Edwins designs on the Isle of Man, a target of Ulaid ambitions. The routine of kingship in Edwins time involved regular, probably annual, wars with neighbours to obtain tribute, submission, and slaves
42.
Devolution
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Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization, devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority may be temporary and are reversible. Thus, the state de jure unitary. Legislation creating devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed or amended by central government in the way as any statute. In federal systems, by contrast, sub-unit government is guaranteed in the constitution, the sub-units therefore have a lower degree of protection under devolution than under federalism. It has six states and two territories with power than states. The Northern Territory of Australia refused statehood in a 1998 referendum, the rejection was a surprise to both the Australian and Northern Territory governments. Territory legislation can be disallowed by the Commonwealth Parliament in Canberra, although Canada is a federal state, a large portion of its land mass in the north is under the legislative jurisdiction of the federal government. This has been the case since 1870, since the 1970s, the federal government has been transferring its decision-making powers to northern governments. This means greater local control and accountability by northerners for decisions central to the future of the territories, Yukon was carved from the Northwest Territories in 1898 but it remained a federal territory. Subsequently, in 1905, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created from the Northwest Territories, other portions of Ruperts Land were added to the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, extending the provinces northward from their previous narrow band around the St. Lawrence and lower Great Lakes. The District of Ungava was an administrative district of Canadas Northwest Territories from 1895 to 1912. The continental areas of district were transferred by the Parliament of Canada with the adoption of the Quebec Boundary Extension Act,1898. The status of the interior of Labrador which was believed part of Ungava was settled in 1927 by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which ruled in favour of Newfoundland. In 1999, the government created Nunavut pursuant to a land claim agreement reached with Inuit. The offshore islands to the west and north of Quebec remained part of the Northwest Territories until the creation of Nunavut in 1999, since that time, the federal government has slowly devolved legislative jurisdiction to the territories. Enabling the territories to become more self-sufficient and prosperous and to play a role in the Canadian federation is considered a key component to development in Canada’s North
43.
Burgh
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A burgh /ˈbʌrə/ was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs, Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United Kingdom. Following local government reorganization in 1975 the title of royal burgh remains in use in many towns, by 1130, David I had established other burghs including Edinburgh, Stirling, Dunfermline, Perth, Dumfries, Jedburgh, Montrose and Lanark. Most of the burghs granted charters in his reign probably already existed as settlements, charters were copied almost verbatim from those used in England, and early burgesses were usually invited English and Flemish settlers. They were able to impose tolls and fines on traders within a region outside their settlements, in the south-west, Glasgow, Ayr and Kirkcudbright were aided by the less profitable sea trade with Ireland and to a lesser extent France and Spain. The founding of 16 royal burghs can be traced to the reign of David I, in addition to the major royal burghs, the late Middle Ages saw the proliferation of baronial and ecclesiastical burghs, with 51 created between 1450 and 1516. Most of these were smaller than their royal counterparts. Excluded from foreign trade, they acted mainly as local markets, Burghs were centres of basic crafts, including the manufacture of shoes, clothes, dishes, pots, joinery, bread and ale, which would normally be sold to indwellers and outdwellers on market days. In general, burghs carried out far more local trading with their hinterlands, on which they relied for food and raw materials, Burghs had rights to representation in the Parliament of Scotland. Under the Acts of Union of 1707 many became parliamentary burghs, there were several types of burgh, including, Royal burgh, founded by Royal charter. Burgh of regality, granted to a nobleman or lord of regality, Burgh of barony, granted to a tenant-in-chief, with narrower powers. Parliamentary burgh or Burgh constituency, a type of parliamentary constituency, Police burgh, a burgh operating a police system of town government. Until 1833, each burgh had a different constitution or sett, the government of the burgh was often in the hands of a self-nominating corporation, and few local government functions were performed, these were often left to ad hoc bodies. Two pieces of reforming legislation were enacted in 1834, The Royal Burghs Act, the Royal Burghs Act provided for the election of magistrates and councillors. Each burgh was to have a council consisting of a provost, magistrates. Every parliamentary elector living within the royalty or area of the royal burgh, one third of the common council was elected each year. The councillors selected a number of their members to be bailies, the provost, or chief magistrate, was elected from among the council every three years. The Royal Burghs Act was also extended to the 12 parliamentary burghs which had recently been enfranchised and these were growing industrial centres, and apart from the lack of a charter, they had identical powers and privileges to the royal burghs
44.
Lothian
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Lothian is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other significant towns include Livingston, Linlithgow, Queensferry, Dalkeith, Musselburgh, North Berwick, Dunbar, historically, the term Lothian referred to a province encompassing most of what is now southeastern Scotland. Lothian was annexed to the Kingdom of Scotland around the 10th century, subsequent Scottish history saw the region subdivided into three shires—Mid, East, and West Lothian—leading to the popular term the Lothians. The origin of the name is debated and it perhaps comes from the British *Lugudūniānā meaning country of the fort of Lugus, the latter being the Celtic God of commerce. Alternatively it may take its name from a watercourse which flows through the region, now known as the Lothian Burn, a popular legend is that the name comes from King Lot, who is king of Lothian in the Arthurian legend. The usual Latin form of the name is Laudonia, Lothian was settled by Angles at an early stage and formed part of the Kingdom of Bernicia, which extended south into present-day Northumberland. Many place names in the Lothians and Borders demonstrate that the English language became firmly established in the region from the century onwards. In due course Bernicia united with Deira to form the Kingdom of Northumbria, little is recorded of Lothians history specifically in this time. After the Norse settled in what is now Yorkshire, Northumbria was effectively cut in two, how much Norse influence spread to the English north of the River Tees is uncertain. Bernicia continued as a territory, sometimes described as having a king. Roger of Wendover wrote that Edgar, King of the English granted Laudian to the King of Scots in 973 on condition that he come to court whenever the English king or his successors wore his crown. It is widely accepted by historians that this marks the point at which Lothian came under Scottish control. The River Tweed became the de facto Anglo-Scottish border following the Battle of Carham in 1018, william the Conqueror invaded Lothian and crossed over the River Forth but did not re-annex it. At this time Lothian appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Loðen or Loþen, in the post-Roman period, Lothian was dominated by British speakers whose language is generally called Cumbric and was closely related to Welsh. In Welsh tradition Lothian is part of the Old North, reminders exist in British place-names like Tranent, Linlithgow and Penicuik. The presence of a landowning Gaelic-speaking aristocracy and their followers for something like 150–200 years, over time and due to various factors, the language of Lothian and Northumbria, a northern variety of Middle English, came to displace Gaelic as the language of the Lowlands. The dialects of the modern Lothians are sometimes considered to be part of Central Scots, the Local Government Act 1973 abolished the ancient counties and burghs, replacing them with regions and districts. Lothian Regional Council formally took responsibility from the old county councils in May 1975
45.
Porteous Riots
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Although the rioters were generally supportive of the convicted smugglers, Porteous seems to have been a somewhat overbearing official, despised by the mob and the underclasses of Edinburgh society. On 14 April 1736 three convicted smugglers, Andrew Wilson, William Hall and George Robertson, were arrested, tried and condemned to death, halls sentence was commuted to exile, while Wilson and Robertson awaited their fate. The remaining convict, Andrew Wilson, was taken to be hanged in the Grassmarket. The body of Wilson was cut down against the wishes of the mob, after the execution the mob became violent and began to stone the City Guard. The crowd became violent and, as panic set in, Captain Porteous ordered the guard to shoot into the mob. Porteous was arrested the same afternoon and charged with murder, feelings were running high in Edinburgh and the jury unanimously found Porteous guilty of murder. He was sentenced to death, the set to take place in the Grassmarket on 8 September 1736. Porteous was imprisoned in the Tolbooth, near St Giles church, events in Scotland alarmed the government in London, and Sir Robert Walpole attempted to influence events by asking his representative in Edinburgh to become involved. But he had miscalculated, underestimating the depth of feeling in Scotland, a formal appeal was petitioned and the execution was deferred. However, on the evening before this was due to happen, making their way across the Grassmarket to the Cowgate and up to the High Street, the mob converged on the Tolbooth, where they were eventually able to overpower the guards. Porteous was dragged from his cell up the Lawnmarket to the West Bow and down to the Grassmarket, after a short while he was dragged down and stripped of his nightgown and shirt, which was then wrapped around his head before he was hauled up again. However, the mob had not tied his hands and, as he struggled free, they broke his arm and shoulder, while another attempted to set light to his naked foot. He was taken down a time and cruelly beaten before being hung up again. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, the following day, the events in Edinburgh heightened the sense of alarm in London, where the government was concerned about the threat to its management of Scotland. In February 1737 a parliamentary inquiry was held, the House of Lords initially proposed the disbanding of the guard and removal of Netherbow Port. Eventually the only punishments enforced were a £2,000 fine imposed on the city, however, despite a reward of £200 being made available by the government for information, those responsible for the murder of Porteous were never found. The events surrounding the Porteous Riots form part of the chapters of the novel The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott. The final resting place of John Porteous in Greyfriars Kirkyard had for more than two hundred years been marked by a square stone engraved with the single letter P
