� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
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hot, flushedHello there! Back for another update, I see. Come to see what I've chosen for today... What's that? You want another virtual tour? Of another catacomb from the documentary I saw called, Incredible Catacombs? I see, I see...I think I have just the one for you. However, *holds up her index finger in warning* this one isn't for the faint of heart, and it would be a good idea to bring a child's toy or a good-sized sum of money in your wallet. (I'll explain why a little later on.) And of course, as before, if you're claustrophobic it might be a good idea to stay above ground.
Ok folks, today we are headed for Scotland, to Edinburgh. This is one of the places--and one of the sites--I truly want to visit in person one day. (Emma, my English friend, and I have talked briefly and pondered over meeting in Scotland to see some of the sights there before crossing the border and having some fun in her own country.)
The catacombs of The Real Mary King's Close have captured my imagination and given birth to a wistful, yet determined desire for a glimpse of 17th century life and to "meet" some of the people who once lived in the Burgh's closes. They (the catacombs) have an exciting, truly haunting, mysterious and poignant history. I doubt anyone who takes an actual tour of the closes opposite Saint Giles' Cathedral, Royal Mile will be left unaffected by the living history they briefly immerse themselves in. I say "living history" because portions of the houses that line the narrow streets are still pretty much as they were when they were last in use, before the city council in 1753 leveled the upper storeys and built the Royal Exchange (now the City Chambers) over them, using the lower floors as a foundation. And also because some of the people who once called The Real Mary King's Close home...still do.
The Real Mary King's Close consists of four closes, or narrow streets with houses on either side, stretching up to seven storeys high. On the actual tour you will be "guided" by one of four inhabitants who called these streets home.
As your guide, one of these Close residents will
But for the nonce, this is a virtual tour, I mustn't forget. And I'm the one leading it. So, shall we continue? We've yet to meet the most famous resident of the Close. Which reminds me...
Ah good, I see some of you listened to me and have brought toys--teddy bears, dolls, stuffed animals, Barbies and action figures...and cameras. Aaahhhh...I hate to be the bearer of bad news folks, but cameras and video cameras aren't allowed in the catacombs. However, the guide book has plenty of pictures, so if you want you can buy the book. I'd recommend that option.
Why are you bringing toys and money? Good question. They're for a sick little girl named Annie. Hers is a tragic story that has touched thousands of visitors' hearts who've, since 1992, left her toys and have donated more than £2,000 in her honor. But their kindness and largess cannot help Annie. *sad smile* For it is believed the Black Death claimed her young life in the underground streets beneath the City Chambers in the 1600s.
Her presence was first discovered in a small room off the part of the underground alleys beneath the Royal Mile known as Allan's Close by a Japanese psychic who visited Mary King's Close in 1992. She "communicated" with the spirit and found her to be a young girl, heartbroken because she had lost her doll. The story goes that Annie had been locked in the room after she fell sick with the plague. The adults wouldn't let her retrieve or bring her the doll to her themselves.
Touched by the young ghost's tale, the psychic went and bought her a new doll. After placing it in Annie's "room" she sensed the girl was delighted. Since then people have been leaving toys in that room and it's become sort of a shrine. Annie has also been known to playfully tug on women's skirts.
Where do the donations go, you ask? Well, since Annie was a sick young girl herself, it was decided the money should naturally go to Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children. The money is going to the TLC campaign, which aims to give the children a small gift when they arrive at the hospital or if they have been through an ordeal, such as an operation.
What was that? Who was Mary King, you want to know. *smiles* A question I myself asked and whose answer I went in search of. She was the widow of well-to-do merchant Thomas Nimmo, who moved to the Close that now bears her name with her four children, Alexander, Euphame, Jonet and William after his death in 1629. She continued, to a lesser degree, his work by selling fabric from her rented forebooth on the Royal Mile.
What we know of her we know from documents and city records, like the 1635 rental, which shows that she rented a "turnpike house with a seller" at the top of the Close and also a "laigh forebooth." Her last will and testament is still extant and therefore, is another source. A section of her home has been recreated with the actual possessions she left to her children--gold rings, silver spoons, gowns, considerable quantities of fabric, ruffs, tin chamber pots, a velvet doublet, a bolster, a wooden settle and many other possessions--and visitors can see all this on the tour. Mary died in September 1644, months before the plague hit Edinburgh, therefore we cannot assume she died from the plague.
The Close had at least five names, long before Mary arrived, and had been called Towis, Livingstoun's, Brown's, King's Close and Alexander King's Close before finally being named Mary King's Close. It was quite unusual for a Close to be named after a woman, and there is no evidence suggesting Mary had been related to any of the other Kings who lived there before her.
If you would like to know more about The Real Mary King's Close, click here.
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