Description:

In the 17th century, Edinburgh's Old Town faced severe overcrowding. Houses were crammed together, rising as high as eight stories. A network of narrow side streets, known as closes, branched off the Royal Mile, which could be locked at both ends at night to keep out undesirables.

The wealthiest residents occupied the upper floors, where they enjoyed the most sunlight and the least unpleasant odors from sewage. In contrast, the poorest inhabitants lived on the dark, squalid ground floors, sharing their space with cattle and facing open sewers right outside their doors. While most closes were eventually demolished or repurposed into offices or apartments, Mary King’s Close experienced a different fate.

When the city authorities decided to construct a grand new Royal Exchange, they encountered a significant obstacle: the existing streets of houses. Instead of demolishing these homes, they opted to remove the top floors and utilize the lower levels as the foundations for the Royal Exchange.

As a result, Mary King’s Close was covered over and incorporated into the building's basement. The sloping terrain meant that the houses facing the Royal Mile were destroyed, but further down the close, entire homes remained intact beneath the surface. Despite being underground, the close was not completely deserted; some residents chose to stay and continued to operate businesses in this unique, half-buried environment.

The "Real Mary King’s Close" offers a one-hour guided tour of these hidden streets and homes from 17th-century Edinburgh. Individual visits are not permitted.

Where? High Street, 2 Warriston’s Close, Edinburgh