History of Leith, Edinburgh

I regret to say, that it is now impossible to point out with any degree of certainty the house, if indeed it still exists, in which Mary of Lorraine lived whilst in Leith (Editors note-Mary of Loraine was Mary of Guise mother of Mary, Queen of Scots).

Were we to give credit to all the traditional information on this subject which I have received that lady would appear to have had in Leith not one place of residence but at least a score there being scarcely an old house in the town without its claims to the honour of having been the habitation of the Queen regent. The mortification therefore which certainly awaits him who sets out in antiquarian excursion through Leith particularly if the house of that illustrious personage be the object of his pursuit will not proceed from any difficulty in discovering the former residence of her Majesty but in the more puzzling circumstance of finding by far too many.

In short he would feel that nearly all the existing antiquities in Leith were fairly divided between “Cromwell” and Queen Mary” these two celebrated personages being lugged in on all cases which may chance to be in the way connected with antiquarian research in the town without any regard to either in chronology or probability. Between Queen Mary and Cromwell according to the traditions of Leith there seems to have been a sort of co-partnership in building houses and certainly judging by their speculations in this way they were not idle during their short stay in the town.

As might naturally be expected from this association her Majesty and the Protector would appear to have lived on the most sociable footing. In proof of this I have found in more than one instance found them residing at one and the same time under one roof and Cromwell living up stairs. To speak seriously I have been frequently assured by the tenant on the first floor of a tenement that the house of which he occupied a part was built by Cromwell and of this I was convinced at the time. By what I thought irrefragable evidence produced by the said tenant in support of his assertion. On going upstairs however I was told by the occupant of the second flat with confidence and gravity which commanded my respect that the house was previously erected by Queen Mary. Here again indubitable testimony of the latter fact was produced and thus my enquiry would terminate in a superabundance of knowledge on the question infinitely more mortifying than utter ignorance.

The General opinion however is that Queen Mary residence was that house in Queen Street behind Mr Nielson’s cooperage is situated and part of which is occupied by him as a counting room. The apartment is decorated with three small oil paintings done on the walls and of which the subjects are marine views they have all the appearance of antiquity and are well executed. Beside these there is also in the same room a full length figure of Neptune painted in like manner on the wall. The antiquity of this painting however appears to me from various circumstances extremely questionable and I don’t think it coeval with the former. The apartment of which we are now speaking is said to have been the Queen Regents Music Room. The principal building fronts Queen Street and has a rather elegant appearance, all the window frames being formed of oak, richly carved but in this it is not singular as there are many houses in Leith decorated in a similar fashion. On the whole however I do not believe that this house ever was occupied by the Queen since I have not been able to learn that there is any good reason for assigning to it that honour. That the street in which it is situated is called Queen Street is a circumstance of no weight whatever in the question as the name was conferred on it within the past fifty years. Previous to that period it was known as the Paunch Market.

The opinion therefore which has obtained that the house was in which Mary of Lorraine lived we conceive has wholly arisen from the circumstances if it’s bearing evidence of once being the residence of some of note. And that its decorations are in better preservation than perhaps those of any other old house in the town. Considerations which in Leith are sufficient, and more than sufficient, to entitle it to the honour which has erroneously conferred on it. In the opinion which I have expressed on this subject I have the opinion of the Leith Historian Maitland also. He clearly states that the Queen had her residence on the corner of Quality Street Lane and Rotten Row (Editors note- Rotten Row is now Water Street). However the magistrates had the building demolished and the area rebuilt. If that is true the building does not exist now.

(Editors note-Later research has shown that Mary of Guise probably didn’t have a house in Leith for the simple reason she had a house below Edinburgh Castle on the site of New College at the top of the Mound in Edinburgh. The fine coat of arms of Mary of Guise which can be seen at South Leith Parish Church, would have been over an entrance through the old wall of Leith and may have been the reason why people thought the Queen actually stayed in Leith. Mary of Guise died in Edinburgh Castle and her death ended the Siege if Leith in 1560)