March/April 2023
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showing signs of wear and tear but the iron slatted roofs still remain. Harry Potter fans would adore a tour of
the graveyard. While the tour I embarked on wasn’t a Harry Potter specific tour, there are plenty on offer throughout the city. However, Robin, our expert guide did attend to all the groups interests. On our way around the graveyard, Robin pointed out graves which inspired many of the names of JK Rowling’s iconic series. Names included, ‘Riddel’ set to inspire the name of the infamous Harry Potter villain, Tom Riddle or ‘Voldemort.’ Names like McGonagall, Moodie, Scrimingeour that also pop up in the wizarding series can be seen dotted along graves throughout the cemetery. Some have even argued that the graveyard was the inspiration for the last name ‘Potter,’ as the name props up on a family grave in the Northern Yard, close to the entrance. After learning the in-depth history about
in which J.K Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel, is located a mere few minutes walk away from the graveyards entrance. Our tour of Greyfriars Kirkyard began on West Bow at the Cadies and Witchery Tours shop where we were first introduced to Robin, our tour guide for the experience. Friendly and informative, it was evident that Robin was an expert on everything to Greyfriars Kirkyard. While one might expect touring a graveyard
to be dark and dreary, Robin maintained a light and friendly atmosphere throughout the tour. Cleverly counteracting the darker stories with the light anecdotes of the notable Edinburgh residents who were also buried in the graveyard. Including a slightly morbid story of a lady who was buried right below the kitchen window of the house which she resided in her entire
life.The last few burials in Greyfriars Kirkyard took place in the 1870s, and ever since the graveyard has been an area of mass tourism in Edinburgh. As you walk along the uneven path of the kirkyard, you begin to get a glimpse into Edinburgh's crime-rampant past as mortsafes and caged lairs continue to prop up throughout the tour.
Mortsafes and Caged Lairs were popular
during the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, as grave-robbing and body-snatching was on the rise throughout Scotland. In a bid to make medical advancement, doctors and medical students were in need of bodies for dissection. Bodies of convicted criminals were initially the corpses provided to these academic institutions. However, as popularity of the medical profession grew, as did the demand for more bodies. This lack of supply and increased demand brought an array of unsavoury characters to the fore- front - these characters were known as grave- robbers or 'resurrection men.' Greyfriars Kirkyard was a popular location
for these grave-robbers, who would often sneak into the burial ground and dig up fresh graves before taking the corpses to medical institutions in a pursuit of profit. This invoked fear throughout Edinburgh, families with recently deceased relatives started to incorporate mortsafes, iron cages which were built over graves, in order to keep grave-robbers from gaining access to their late-loved ones corpse. Caged Lairs were a more effective way of doing so. Wealthier citizens of Edinburgh were able to build a deeper tomb with iron slatted roofs and doors to prevent the resurrection men from disturbing their final resting place. While grave-robbing ceased in 1832
with the introduction of the Anatomy Act, Greyfriars Kirkyard restored many of the mortsafes in 2010 as a bid to remind visitors of the horrid histories of the body-snatching trade. Sadly, many of the caged lairs are
the precautionary measures old citizens of Edinburgh used to take to protect their loved ones. The tour moved onto a lighter topic for the tour group, the long-standing celebrity of the graveyard, Greyfriar Bobby. A Skye Terrier dog who remained by his owner, John Gray's graveside for fourteen years until he passed away on the grounds himself. Upon first entering the graveyard from the George IV Bridge side stands a black fountain monument to Greyfriars Bobby, where the little dog is immortalised in stone forever. Interestingly, rubbing the nose of Bobby's statue has been suspected to bring good luck to whoever does it. Those seeking to pay tribute to John Gray’s loyal furry friend, Bobby can find his grave located at the entrance of the kirkyard where visitors often leave sticks and treats to pay tribute to one of Edinburgh’s most adored figures. A tour of Greyfriars Kirkyard is jam-packed
and information heavy but with a fun and friendly guide like Robin. Learning about how integral the kirkyard is to the history of
DIVING DEEP INTO HISTORIC EDINBURGH | 17
city. While I did not explore the Vaults on my first time in Edinburgh back in October 2021, I added a tour of the Edinburgh Vaults to the itinerary for my February 2023 city break. Having initially heard mixed reviews about the tour, I decided to book one myself to gather my own verdict on a trip down to the Edinburgh Vaults. While I had heard claims that some tours can be busy and overcrowded - I was pleasantly surprised when arriving at the meeting point for Auld Reekie Tours that it was a small group tour. The guide - Josh was an excellent story-teller and on our way to the entrance of the vaults. He even stopped off at some locations along the royal mile including ‘The Heart Of Midlothian.’ The Edinburgh Vaults
were developed in the eighteenth century and were completed in 1788. These South Bridge Vaults were created in hopes of providing storage for the shop- keepers located above the vaults on ground level and also as a business development opportunity for other shopkeepers and businesses to open up shop in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Interestingly, Edinburgh Old Town decided to build it’s infrastructure up the way rather than out, maintaining it’s compact space in the hills. Even to this day, everything in Edinburgh is in close proximity to each other, even if you do have to battle lots of steps or a steep hill to get there! Unfortunately,
these
the beautiful city of Edinburgh makes for a memorable part of the trip. While it seems odd to spend an entire afternoon of a city- break exploring a graveyard, it is all part of Edinburgh’s gothic and medieval charm. In fact - the afternoon spent in Greyfriars Kirkyard was probably my favourite point of the trip!
Continuing the theme of the hidden horrors of Edinburgh’s past. The Edinburgh Vaults are also a recommended must-see for those wanting to learn a bit more about the
vaults were dark, damp and too dangerous to maintain shops or businesses. More often than not, the vaults became water-lodged and often destroyed produce and much-needed materials for the residing businesses. As a result, businesses packed up and left, leaving the vaults abandoned. Due to homelessness being illegal in Edinburgh as this time, many homeless people headed into the vaults in pursuit of shelter. Very soon the vaults became a place of both illegal activity and homelessness, with gangs, grave-robbers, brothels and impoverished individuals and families seeking refugee in the vaults. Sadly, due to horrible living conditions death and disease was rampant in the vaults and as a result many believe that the vaults are
one of the most haunted locations in all of Edinburgh.
Interestingly, the Edinburgh Vaults were
Did you know? Edinburgh Castle is built on an extinct volcano.
sealed off in the mid-nineteenth centuries and forgotten about for hundreds of years. Until 1985, when a group of students who lived in an flat in Cowgate began to encounter damp in their back bedroom. In a bid to discover the source of the damp, the students took tools to the walls and discovered much more than a case of extensive damp! The students actually discovered an entire abandoned street behind their bedroom wall. The street made up of nineteen vaults, some of which can be accessed on the tour, runs the whole way along the length of the South Bridge of Edinburgh. The students reported the discovery to their landlord and soon Edinburgh officials became involved and the South Bridge Vaults were maintained for tourism purposes. On our Auld Reekie
Tour, we encountered several stories from the vaults and were took along the expanse of the street. Learning about the conditions of those who lived there and even hearing some ghostly and creepy encounters which guides and other tour groups have encountered while down in the Vaults. The tour is around an hour long meaning it won’t eat a lot of time out of your Edinburgh City Break. The winding alcoves of the Edinburgh Vaults are truly unbelievable to witness with your own eyes and it is a shock that they lay undiscovered for so long! With such an entertaining
story-teller as Josh for a guide, a trip down underground to the Edinburgh Vaults should definitely be on your must-see list for Edinburgh. While the tour of Greyfriars Kirkyard
and the Edinburgh Vaults are just a drop in the ocean of Edinburgh’s deep-rooted history. These tours are stellar in getting to experience the dark and hidden corners of what Edinburgh or ‘Auld Reekie’ was like way-back-when. With still plenty of locations on my Edinburgh bucketlist - including Mary King’s Close and a tour of Holyrood Palace- it seems like a third trip is on the cards!
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