Experience | The Real Mary King’s Close

The Real Mary King’s Close consists of a number of closes which were originally narrow streets with houses on either side, stretching up to seven storeys high. In 1753, the Burgh Council decided to develop a new building on this site, the Royal Exchange (now the City Chambers). The houses at the top of the closes were knocked down and part of the lower sections were kept and used as the foundations for the Royal Exchange. The remnants of the closes were left beneath the building, dark and ancient dwellings steeped in mystery.

Following research into new documentary and archaeological evidence uncovered by Continuum, for the first time the real lives of some of the people who lived here have been traced and their stories can now be told. At The Real Mary King’s Close you will see an historically accurate interpretation of life in Edinburgh from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. On your tour of the site you will:

Witness the highs and lows of sixteenth century townhouse living.

Meet some of the people who lived here in the seventeenth century.

Visit the home of a gravedigger’s family to discover the truth about how the Burgh Council dealt with the plague epidemic of 1644–1646.

See one of the best examples of seventeenth century housing in Scotland.

Peek inside the nineteenth century saw-maker’s workshop.

Walk in seventeenth century footsteps along Mary King’s Close.

You will be guided through the underground closes by one of the characters from the past whose life touched Mary King’s Close. Your guide will reveal dramatic episodes and extraordinary apparitions from the past, including ghost stories over 300 years old.

The Real Mary King’s Close is funded by the City of Edinburgh Council and operated by Heritage, part of Continuum.

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