In the heart of Edinburgh is one of its premier arts venues - the Usher Hall nestles between two of the city's best-known theatres, the Traverse and the Lyceum, and is readily accessible from Princes Street.

​But you may be surprised to learn that the concert venue very nearly ended up a little further along Lothian Road...

In 1896 Andrew Usher gifted the city a sum of money equivalent to over £10 million today, for the construction of a venue to bear his name, in much the same fashion as William McEwan had done previously. The McEwan Hall, also funded by the profits from the family brewing and distilling business, still stands at the heart of Edinburgh University's city centre operation on Bristo Square. But a similar plot of land was proving difficult for officials to find for the Usher Hall.

Usher's money was specifically for an entertainment venue of at least 3,000 seats that could be accessible by the whole city - the size of building this would need couldn't be readily accommodated in an already over-developed city centre. ​

Luckily Edinburgh has always had a significant amount of open green space in and around it, and the land on the Meadows had already previously been used for a great exhibition in the 1880s. Although that building had been a temporary one, perhaps space could be set aside for a more permanent structure?

Plans from 1898 show the circular layout of the Usher Hall sited at the west end of the Meadows, near  the junction with Brougham Place. Roughly here:

Andrew Usher, then in his seventies, died in 1898, never seeing the plans for his building being confirmed. It was unlikely ever to have been granted planning permission for the Meadows site, however, as the land was protected then (as it still is today) by an act of parliament forbidding any permanent construction on its green expanse.

The Usher Hall project sat in limbo for over a decade, while alternative sites were considered. In 1910, a school building off Lothian Road was closed down, and the demolition of the structure left a large open space in the shadow of the castle rock itself. In 1911 the site was confirmed as the location for the proposed Usher Hall, with the foundation stone being laid by King George V in July of that year.

And so the small accumulation of buildings, sometimes touted as Edinburgh's theatre district, began to take shape. The Lyceum has been open since the 1880s, although the 'new' Traverse theatre wouldn't open until 1992, having previously been housed in spaces off the Lawnmarket and the Grassmarket since the 1960s.

The grand circle frontage of the Usher Hall is today complemented by a glass extension opened a few years ago, combining the classical stone work with a contemporary feel that truly celebrates the building's position in Edinburgh culture for over a century.

It remains a popular venue for concerts and comedy, and even hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1970s! The hall's immense organ remains the centrepiece of its stage, an instrument which cost an impressive £4,000 in cash when it was installed.

Find out more about the Usher Hall and other historic buildings in the city with my private Edinburgh walking tours!

As the world's first UNESCO City of Literature, it's unsurprising that Edinburgh has a variety of literary and poetic associations. But one spot in the city in particular has links to three of Scottish poetry's most important figures.

Located on the Canongate section of the Royal Mile, the Canongate Kirk is a fascinating and historic attraction in itself, and well worth the time to visit. But for poetry lovers in particular, this is an especially important place.

Firstly, visitors will find a statue of a jaunty looking fellow striding away from the kirkyard as they approach the gates. This is a memorial to Robert Fergusson, a poet who is largely credited with inspiring the budding writer Robert Burns in his work, and without whom Burns may never has persisted with the art which has led him to be treasured as Scotland's Bard.

Born in Edinburgh and educated in St Andrews, Fergusson became well known for his verses in the Scots tongue, something which especially inspired Burns. Unfortunately, all was not well in Fergusson's life, and having sustained a head injury falling down stairs in the city's Old Town, he was admitted to the asylum, where he died just a short time later. He was only 24 years old. 

Fergusson was buried in the Canongate Kirkyard, where later Robert Burns appended a verse to his tomb, commemorating his friend and inspiration:

No sculptur'd marble here, nor pompous lay,
‘No story'd urn nor animated bust;’
This simple stone directs pale Scotia's way
To pour her sorrows o'er her Poet's dust.

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
...
I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy;
Naething could resist my Nancy;
For to see her was to love her,
Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never loved sae kindly,
Had we never loved sae blindly,
Never met—or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Agnes/Nancy/Clarinda later returned to Edinburgh, where she died in 1841, being buried in the Canongate Kirkyard.

And so it is Scotland's Bard himself who links two other significant figures from Scots poetry. Memorials to both Fergusson and Clarinda can be found in the churchyard, where the melancholy sense of a life and love affair cut short can still be felt when the wind blows between the gravestones....

Explore Canongate Kirkyard on a private walking tour of the city! Contact me for more information.

On 8 January 1697, Thomas Aikenhead became the last person in the UK to be executed for the crime of blasphemy. He had been a student at Edinburgh University, and was just 20 years old when he died at the end of a rope at the Gallowlee, a site of execution between Edinburgh and Leith.

The Blasphemy Act of 1661 first specified that anyone found guilty of being observed to "rail upon or curse or deny God, and obstinately continue therein" should be sentenced to death.

Thirty years later an amendment to the act instituted a (marginally) more compassionate 'three strikes' policy, with sentences of imprisonment for the first two offences proven, followed by death for a third.

During August 1696, Aikenhead had been walking through Edinburgh with a couple of his friends, and had had cause to remark that the Scottish weather was so unforgiving, he "wished he were in Hell, where at least it would be a little bit warmer".

The Scots are sometimes noted for their dry sense of humour, but Aikenhead's remark was not found to be as amusing as he may have hoped. He was charged with denouncing God and Jesus Christ, railing against the holy scriptures, and speaking against all forms of religion. Specific allegations claimed that he had suggested that Jesus had "learned magic in Egypt", and suggested he preferred the teachings of Mohammed to those of Christ.

Just 140 years previously, the religious landscape in Scotland had been massively impacted by the shift away from Catholicism to a protestant doctrine, and the laws which were enshrined as a result of this change were partly seeking to protect a similar seismic theological shift from happening again. Such was the strength of religious conviction by the Scottish Presbyterian authorities, it had been stipulated that every Scot should have access to a Bible - and, by assumption, be able to read it. (It was partly down to this insistence that, by the 18th century, it's believed an astonishing three-quarters of Scots were literate.)

At his trial in Edinburgh, five fellow students testified against Aikenhead, which suggests little of a sense of student solidarity. Unable to afford to pay for legal representation, Aikenhead defended himself at the trial, but no record survives of the defence that was lodged.

It was unfortunate for Aikenhead that the man prosecuting him, Sir James Stewart, was notorious as a legal authority, the Lord Advocate for Scotland at the time - who lived on Advocate's Close in the Old Town - and an intimidating figure at the bench, making him a public celebrity during his own lifetime. Quirks of the legal system aside, this was a true David and Goliath battle, and on this occasion it was Goliath who was the victor.  

In a strangely un-festive spirit, Aikenhead was found guilty and sentenced to death on Christmas Eve 1696.

​Appealing the decision, Aikenhead asked for clemency on the grounds of this being his first offence, and also on account of his "tender years". The appeal found little sympathy with the authorities, who seemed determined to make an example of Aikenhead. However, the Privy Council ruled that although they were not minded to be lenient on the boy, on the word of the Church of Scotland itself the sentence would be dropped.

Alas, Christian forgiveness was in short supply and the church made no such intervention. Thus, on January 8 1697 Thomas Aikenhead found himself wearily walking two miles to his death, along the road from town to the gallows near modern day Pilrig. 

​On the day of his execution, Aikenhead made a written statement which contains echoes of some modern defences of the principle of free speech. 

"It is a principle innate and co-natural to every man," Aikenhead wrote, "to have an insatiable inclination to the truth, and to seek for it as for hid treasure."

Perhaps the example made of Aikenhead had the desired effect, as he was the last person to be executed for the crime of blasphemy in the UK. 

Explore more of Edinburgh's dark history with my private walking tours of the city! 

Probably the grandest of these surviving wells is one of the last to be discovered. Adjacent to the Water of Leith, between Stockbridge and the Dean Village, you'll find St Bernard's Well, complete with its Italian-style temple surrounding, and the goddess Hygieia continuing to watch over those who come to take its waters.

St Bernard's Well was discovered in the eighteenth century, and gave rise to some of the development of this area, as the former Raeburn Estate sprouted houses to accommodate those who had travelled from afar to take the water from this spring. Rich in minerals, the water from St Bernard's well came from a source entirely separate from the Water of Leith, and quickly developed a reputation for having restorative, if not actual healing, powers. 

The temple-structure around the well was designed by Alexander Nasmyth, modelled on the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, making it a fitting attraction for those who could afford to travel and stay in the properties on nearby Mineral Street (now Dean Terrace). The pump mechanism drawing the water up still works, although it is only rarely open to the public.

Near to St Bernard's Well is the lesser-known St George's Well, with a less ostentatious pump house, although the spring is now integrated into the private gardens off the Water of Leith pathway.

Another area which became popular for its holy wells was Holyrood Park. The area had a number of underground water supplies, which partly accounts for the the district developing a number of breweries, who capitalised on the supply of fresh water for their industry.

But Holyrood Park itself had seven holy wells at one time, although most of them are either lost or have dried up today. Two are still known, and one still functions - that of St Margaret's Well, easily accessible from Queen's Drive, just before St Margaret's Loch.

The well is today housed in an enclosed structure, and viewed up close reveals its distinctive vaulted internal ceiling. (A second well dedicated to St Margaret used to flow from the base of the castle rock. Today a plaque marks the spot, although the well is long since gone.)

It is believed that St Margaret's Well was discovered near to the site of the encounter that David I had with the stag in 1128, which led to the founding of Holyrood Abbey. The water today has slowed to a trickle, but is nonetheless technically still 'functional' as a well after nearly 900 years.

A little further up the slopes of Arthur's Seat, you may be able to discover the second surviving well in the area, just underneath the ruins of St Anthony's Chapel.

Originally the spring was associated with the chapel building, and may have been the reason why this outpost of faith got built in the first place. Although it is not generally flowing, a small stone basin can be found directly adjacent to a large rock, from beneath which the water originally flowed.

​Neither of these holy wells would act as a significant draw to the city today, but at one time they would have been a major reason for people travelling to visit Edinburgh, along with the churches and associated reliquaries in the town itself. As such, their heritage as part of the city's tourist culture is important in understanding how and why Edinburgh has been a popular destination for visitors for nearly 1,000 years.

Explore Edinburgh in more detail with my private tours of the city. Contact me for more information!