John Knox House & Mowbray House - High Street, Edinburgh, Scotland
N 55° 57.032 W 003° 11.120
30U E 488426 N 6200589
An historical marker about the alterations and decorations of the historic John Knox House and Mowbray House is located on High Street (also known as the Royal Mile) in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Waymark Code: WMEYEX
Location: Southern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/22/2012
Views: 8
The historical marker reads:
"ALTERATIONS & DECORATIONS
John Knox House, to your left, and Mowbray House, behind you, are probably the oldest houses in Edinburgh. They give us some idea of what Edinburgh looked like around 1600. The earliest parts of these houses are medieval, but buildings in Edinburgh were always being extended and altered. The front of John Knox House was built in about 1556 for James Mosman, a goldsmith whose father made the Scottish crown, and his wife Mariota Arres. You can see their initials in the plaque on the wall.
The couple also decorated their house with a sundial showing Moses; this was a popular image of the time, though more common in nobles' courts than commoners' houses. Perhaps the Moses sundial was a way of showing what fashionable company James Mosman kept as a respected craftsman.
John Knox, an important and controversial religious reformer in Scotland during the 1500s, may never have lived here. But the tradition that this was his house saved it from being demolished in improvement schemes. You can find out more about the house, John Knox, and James Mosman inside.
Both these houses were on the edge of the walled city of Edinburgh. Down the road, at the junction with St. Mary's Street, stood the main entrance gate - the Netherbow Port. You can see its outline marked by brass tiles in the road.
To your left is one of the old water tanks or cisterns which were the only water supply in the Old Town until 1822. By the 1780s, this system could not provide enough water for the city's growing population. To limit demand, the water was only turned on for three hours, at midnight. Those who could afford it paid water caddies to collect their water for them, to avoid getting up in the middle of the night."
Type of Historic Marker: Information Board
Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Old Town Renewal Trust & Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise Limited
Age/Event Date: 01/01/1556
Related Website: [Web Link]
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