Tour the Royal Mile, Edinburgh: White Horse Close

During lockdown days, I’ve been staying local (of course). So I’ve been delving a little deeper into the alleyways and corners of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to uncover its most creatively-charged stories and details. Let’s have a look at White Horse Close. But first up…

What is a close?

In Scotland, a close is an alleyway – often between buildings. A close was typically a gated alleyway leading to and from private homes. The gates were locked at night with only residents having a key. You can still see faint evidence of the mounting points for iron gates on the entrances of some closes today.

Royal Mile Closes

The Royal Mile was Edinburgh’s first main street and is now the central hub of the historic Old Town. Its closes branch off the Royal Mile in the shape of a fish skeleton. Each close has its unique and colourful history. I’m going to pick out the most interesting details for those of us who love to dive into the creative end of history.

Let’s start with the nearest close to my home. It’s also the nearest close to Holyrood Palace. No, I don’t live in the palace 😉

White Horse Close

As you step into the close, you step right into a time warp. The history of this close is as multi-faceted as the buildings standing before you. Although it’s considered a wee hidden gem in Edinburgh, there is often one or two visitors standing in the close when I walk past. The close leads you into a private residential courtyard and its fine to have a peek but you can’t enter the buildings. This close is all about aesthetics and has been captured by artists through the generations. You will find out soon enough that not all closes are as picturesque, spacious and sweet-smelling.

White Horse Inn

According to the plaque on the wall, the White Horse Inn was built by Laurence Ord in 1623, however the details on this are not clear. The inn closed in the late 18th century, but once served as a well-known coaching inn. It had stables for horses in an undercroft. As the inn was once the location of stables to Holyrood Palace (the royal mews), it was likely named after Mary Queen of Scots’ favourite horse. You can still see the layout of these stables at the rear of the building on Calton Road.

White Horse Inn marked the start and end of the Great North Road – a terminus for stagecoaches arriving to and from London on a week-long journey.

The location was also a good water source with a drinking station nearby for the horses. As you notice the street names around, you can imagine Horse Wynd, Calton Road and Watergate as the set-off point for stagecoaches veering along Calton Road to join London Road and head southwards to London.

Ned Holt

Although there have been several notable and respected residents at White Horse Inn, one interesting and multi-passionate resident was Edward (Ned) Holt (1836-92). Whilst living here, Ned is baker-turned-showman-turned-actor. He is also an artist on the side. These sketches keep him in supplies at the nearby drinking establishments along the Royal Mile. He sketches the colourful contemporary characters that live and work around the Royal Mile. As an actor, Ned is known for playing Hamlet at a ‘penny gaff’ theatre called Connor’s in Blackfriars Wynd.

Our Ned also runs a fairground booth in the Grassmarket where people could pay a penny to see a living skeleton – it is a skeleton he bought for a few pennies and covered with rubber and bark from the local tannery. He also hosts other fairground acts, a 1000-year-old mummy and a demonstration of him killing rats with his teeth. On 21st September 1892, poor Ned dies after being hit by a cab whilst returning from the Musselburgh horse races. However, Ned is best remembered today for his character sketches of Victorian Edinburgh street-life. You can view the collection of Ned Holt paintings online. These people come alive for us today as they have gained immortality through Ned.

White Horse Close after Ned Holt

By 1889, White Horse Close is a dilapidated slum with intolerable living conditions – much like many other Royal Mile closes. The courtyard buildings, including the inn, are completely renovated and converted into working-class accommodation following a push from Victorian Edinburgh superhero conservationist and polymath Patrick Geddes. A second renovation takes place in the 1960s following a programme of slum clearance and redevelopment. Although completely renovated, the buildings retain their original character. Typical Scottish architectural features are enhanced such as crow-stepped gables, fore-stairs and pantiled roofs.

White Horse Close today is a desirable place to live. By all accounts, it’s a close-knit community here.

Russell House

It is also worth noticing Russell House which is also twice-renovated – a 17th Century vernacular-style tenement. It sits right on the tri-corner opposite the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace – the first building on the right on your way up the Mile. Check out its timber doorway staired entrance.

Much of the renovation and conservation of Royal Mile’s historic buildings was pioneered by Patrick Geddes. We’ll look at him a lot in future posts. In fact, he’s so prolific that I’ll probably want to give him his own post.

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