EDINBURGH EXPERT WALKING TOURS
  • Home
  • Private Edinburgh Tours
    • Customised Edinburgh Walking Tours
    • Fixed Route Tours >
      • Royal Mile Tour
      • New Town Tour
      • Old and New Towns Tour
      • Beyond the World's End Tour
  • About Your Guide
  • Book Online
    • Tour Pricing >
      • Terms and Conditions
  • Blog

EDINBURGH EXPERT BLOG

The Strange Case of the Apothecary's Tomb

20/10/2016

 
Picture
Nestled in a corner of one of Edinburgh's suburbs is a small plot of paved and planted space dominated by a grinning skull and crossbones decoration. It is a hidden gem of Bruntsfield, this mausoleum of a local man named John Livingston, who owned and lived in the nearby property nearly 400 years ago.

At that time, in the 1630s, the area of Greenhill was a true outlying estate, well beyond the city limits, in a region known as the Burgh Muir. (The former name of the area survives in the name of the local secondary school, Boroughmuir.) This was an expansive area of land used for grazing cattle and under common/public ownership. John Livingston - an apothecary or chemist - bought a piece of land here and built his family home upon it, but was only to enjoy it for a short period of time, before his death in 1645. 

John Livingston tomb Bruntsfield
Around this time, the Black Death was sweeping across Europe, and had taken hold in Edinburgh, one of the many times that plague ravaged the city. The virulent nature of the plague meant that specific plague laws were introduced to manage its spread, one of the surest ways of protecting the population was to remove those diagnosed with the illness and quarantine them in less populous areas, to prevent the spread of the disease. Burgh Muir was one area to which people diagnosed with the plague were evacuated from the city, and where they were buried on death. 

It has been suggested by some that the dips and depressions in the Bruntsfield Links are the evidence of plague pits, where diseased corpses were interred, although this is not the case. The undulations of this popular parkland were created during quarrying of the area for stone - the plague pits of the Burgh Muir were further out, nearer the areas of Grange and Morningside today.

John Livingston contracted plague in 1645 - possibly spread by those souls moved out of the city - and after his death, aged 53, was buried at a mausoleum built on his estate. The land and house was later redeveloped by Livingston's son, and in time the Bruntsfield and Greenhill area became a popular suburb of the growing capital.

Today Livingston's burial plot is preserved just off Chamberlain Road, through a small gateway which leads into the enclosed area of the mausoleum, paved in stone and with plants decorating the surrounding edges. The gravestone itself bears an extended epitaph, and the cheery Latin inscription: Mors patet; Hora Latet - 'Death is sure; the hour obscure'.​

John Livingston's tomb Bruntsfield
In 2004 Livingston's mausoleum became the focus of an extended legal dispute between Edinburgh Council and the new owners of the adjacent residence, over who had ownership (and maintenance rights) over the land. The new owners had understood the plot to be included in their land, and had moved to close it off from public access, while the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland claimed that burial plot remained the responsibility of the council.

​After much legal analysis of old title deeds, it was confirmed that John Livingston's mausoleum must remain accessible to the public, and with appropriate public maintenance from the city council. 


As such, it remains a curious (and peaceful) space just off the busy access road between Holy Corner and the Grange, and a popular spot for those locals who know of its existence. 

Explore Edinburgh's hidden corners in more detail with my private walking tours of the city!

Comments are closed.
    Buy Me a Coffee
    Enjoy the blog but can't take a tour?
    ​Show your support and
    ​buy me a coffee!

    Search the blog archive...

    Categories

    All
    Architecture Of Edinburgh
    A To Z Of Edinburgh
    City Of Literature
    Edinburgh History
    Edinburgh Local Heroes
    Edinburgh's Graveyards
    Look Closer
    Museums And Galleries
    New Town
    Old Town
    Out Of Town
    Scottish History

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

EDINBURGH TOURS
​Customised Edinburgh Walking Tours
Fixed Route Edinburgh Walking Tours
​​Edinburgh's New Town Walking Tour
Edinburgh's Old and New Towns Tour
Old Town and Royal Mile Walking Tour
Beyond the World's End Walking Tour​
BOOK A TOUR ONLINE
​Book an Edinburgh Tour
Edinburgh Tour Pricing
​Terms and Conditions
​Interactive Edinburgh map
CONTACT​
About Your Tour Guide
Edinburgh Expert Blog
​Frequently Asked Questions
​Telephone: +44 (0) 131 235 2351
Email: gareth@edinburghexpert.com

​© COPYRIGHT GARETH DAVIES ​2014-23
Picture
Featured on KAYAK Travel Guides
  • Home
  • Private Edinburgh Tours
    • Customised Edinburgh Walking Tours
    • Fixed Route Tours >
      • Royal Mile Tour
      • New Town Tour
      • Old and New Towns Tour
      • Beyond the World's End Tour
  • About Your Guide
  • Book Online
    • Tour Pricing >
      • Terms and Conditions
  • Blog