#murde

On 7th of September 1736, Captain Porteous was dragged from prison and lynched by an angry mob in Edinburgh.

This is a story I enjoy telling my friends who have visited Edinburgh and have a wee wander around with me, The Grassmarket being a great stop off point to have a liquid refreshment in one of the many bars in the area. Edinburgh is so rich with history, the bar names relate to specific things, last week I told you about Maggie Dickson, another bar is the White Hart, which relates to oor first King David. This tale might not have a bar attached to it, but the plaque in the pic is opposite the main Grassmarket "hub" and is good starting point.

The background was popular anger with the economic effects of the Union which had destroyed Scotland's trade with France and had imposed various duties, especially a malt tax in 1725 which drove up the price of ale, there's nothing worse than a Scotsman having to pay more for his alcohol!

Porteous, Captain of the Town Guard, ordered his men to fire at an angry crowd which had begun pelting them with stones at the execution of a popular smuggler in the Grassmarket. Nine spectators were killed, including a young boy watching from a high window. Found guilty, Porteous was sentenced to be hanged and imprisoned in the Tolbooth. Queen Caroline, acting for George II who was in Hanover, granted a stay of execution.

However, the mob took its revenge by breaking into the Tolbooth and dragging Porteous to the Grassmarket where he was lynched on the pole of a dyer's premises directly adjacent to the site of the gallows. On the way, they broke into a booth at the foot of the West Bow to procure a length of rope, leaving behind a guinea in payment on the counter.

The Provost and four bailies, deemed negligent for failing to alert the Castle garrison, were summoned to appear before the House of Lords, resulting in the town being fined £2,000 for the support of Porteous' widow. An Act requiring ministers of the gospel to demand the killers give themselves up and threaten severe penalties on those shielding them was widely seen as an abuse of the Kirk and ignored.