Meet the residents… Your experience at The Real Mary King’s Close will be brought to life by one of our costumed character tour guides. Each of them characterises a former resident who really lived, worked and died on the closes of Old Town Edinburgh.
Meet Agnes. A maid in the household of prominent merchant burgess Alexander Cant. It’s 1535, there’s a tale of murder on Craig’s Close… things are about to take a dramatic turn.
Occupation: Maid to the Cant Family
Likes: Polishing her master’s Quaich collection, and returning home at the end of a long day
Dislikes: 7am in the morning and 10pm at night. The time for gardyloo!
Meet Robert. A well-known poet, and the literary inspiration to Robert Burns. It’s 1771 and the notorious ‘Cape Club’ is in full swing. It’s only a matter of time before tragedy strikes.
Meet Walter. An unsung hero of the deadly 1645 plague epidemic. Putting his life at risk to help clear the homes of those affected. Can you spot his distinctive uniform featuring the Cross of St Andrew?
Meet doctor George Rae. A renowned physician during the second and worst outbreak of the plague in Edinburgh. He worked for the city council, and was a pioneer of emerging medical sciences in Edinburgh.
Mr Chesney was the last resident of The Close, but was eventually ordered to leave his lodgings by compulsory purchase so the Royal Exchange building could be enlarged.