The Mysterious Underground Chambers of Gilmerton Cove

reply to post by leolady


No, they're not far and aren't they all nicely lined up to take something off the boats?
The grail story persists, and there's usually good reason for folklore.

Whatever it is, somebody went to an awful lot of trouble to hollow out those rooms.

S & F
Great thread. I have always been fascinated by the mystique and romance of the British Isles. The castles, the towns and villages, the countryside. Everything about them! What an incredible vibe. Many of the town names are also very cool.

Hinton-in-the-Hedges and Newcastle upon Tyne. Those names are definitely cooler than Toledo or Tallahassee.

Great find! So interesting. Thank you

I'll keep an eye on this topic from now on.

S&F

So it's a meeting place for secret societies?

dollukka
reply to post by beansidhe

 

What im intrested of is who built the house above it and if the first owners had mason connection. That house cannot be as old as the caves under it.
Rosslyn church is intresting as well as it has some very weird looking carvings.

The caves are probably much older and formed naturally, since rainwater can dissolve sandstone. All builders at that time belonged to guilds which ran their own apprenticeship schemes. They would have excavated the sandstone from the ground to build a basement as well as cut sandstone blocks.

The large pit in the floor may have been used to collect water during stone cutting and construction, during floods or even when washing out the basement. Modern basements below the ground water level have a sump and it's basically a large square hole in the floor with a pump that sucks the water out and pushes it down a drain. In those days, the only option would be to use buckets.

Just about every apartment block in Edinburgh has at least one basement level. The stone-masons would take advantage of ay any natural cliff, valley or pre-existing wall and just build on top of it, over it, or around it. Hill-tops would be flattened, and valleys built over with viaducts so that it would look like a normal road from above, but would actually have deep basements.

Here's an example of building along a cliff: goo.gl...

I once went on a tour of some newly discovered basements in Edinburgh's Old Town - they went three levels down a spiral staircase. I'll put the photographs in a new thread if anyone is interested.

reply to post by stormcell


There is speculation that the coves are much, much older than 18th century.
But why go to the trouble of adding in a carved blacksmith's forge and fireplace - both unused? Was something to be made here?

By the way, I would love to see your thread!

beansidhe
reply to post by Skyfloating

 

Edinburgh's full of them, it's got a fascinating past.
Here's an example:

The Edinburgh Vaults or South Bridge Vaults are a series of chambers formed in the nineteen arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was completed in 1788. For around 30 years, the vaults were used to house taverns, cobblers and other tradesmen, and as storage space for illicit material, reportedly including the bodies of people killed by serial killers Burke and Hare for medical experiments.
As the conditions in the vaults deteriorated, mainly because of damp and poor air quality, the businesses left and the very poorest of Edinburgh's citizens moved in, though by around 1820, even they are believed to have left too. That people had lived there was only discovered in 1985 during an excavation, when middens were found containing toys, medicine bottles, plates, and other signs of human habitation.[1]

The Edinburgh Vaults

Don't forget Mary King's Close...

Mary King's Close is an old Edinburgh close under buildings in the Old Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It took its name from one Mary King, daughter of advocate Alexander King, who in the 17th century had owned several properties within the close.[1][2] The close was partially demolished and buried under the Royal Exchange, and later being closed to the public for many years, the complex became shrouded in myths and urban legends; tales of ghosts and murders, and myths of plague victims being walled up and left to die abounded.[3][4]

However, new research and archaeological evidence has revealed that the close actually consists of a number of closes which were originally narrow streets with tenement houses on either side, stretching up to seven storeys high. Mary King's Close is now a commercial tourist attraction.

en.wikipedia.org...

I read about that one in a Rebus (Ian Rankin) novel...Edinburgh quite literally has a seedy underbelly

Another good thread from you, I'd never heard of Gilmerton and am enjoying the speculation, though I personally favour the Hell Fire Club theory, it kind of has that 'air' to it

beansidhe

JamboD

i live 16 miles away from there! how have i never heard about this until now?

its amazing!

thanks for bringing it to my attention, i will have go on the tour sometime

I know! I'd never heard of it either!
Get over there, and give us some on the ground reporting!!

exactly what i was thinking, i've never heard of the place either,and i'm only through in Glasgow. need to be paying it a visit,see what the story is

So start digging already!!!

sapien82
Im willing to wage money that these caves were created to hide catholic priests during the sectarian violence during the protestant reformation in Scotland.

Many house and castles of this period had hidden areas for this reason alone

That was exactly what I was about to post, if you Google "Priest Holes" it tells of all kinds of clever hidden rooms in numerous houses for this purpose. They sometimes led to different houses and was a complete secret until years later!

reply to post by beansidhe


Amazing, never heard of it. Great post

reply to post by beansidhe


Thats cool, its like a Famous Five adventure location.

sidewalker

beansidhe

JamboD

i live 16 miles away from there! how have i never heard about this until now?

its amazing!

thanks for bringing it to my attention, i will have go on the tour sometime

I know! I'd never heard of it either!
Get over there, and give us some on the ground reporting!!

exactly what i was thinking, i've never heard of the place either,and i'm only through in Glasgow. need to be paying it a visit,see what the story is

Yay sidewalker!!
It would be great if you could find out why they can't open up the passages, and who's preventing it

reply to post by KilgoreTrout


Thanks, Kilgore!
I'm with you, I think it's definitely got a seedy air to it!

reply to post by beansidhe


Great find, never heard of the place before this.

Might have to arrange a visit some time later in the year.....maybe have a meet up with some Scottish and North East members at the same time....and of course a few(?) sociables.

reply to post by Freeborn


'Sociables' are always a brilliant idea!

reply to post by beansidhe


Awesome find!
I Love this kind of mystery.
Heading out right now, but I can't wait to read up and follow the links when I get back.
Cheers from here,
Aft

reply to post by beansidhe


Very Cool find OP, S&F

I've never heard of this place before, as other have said, much reading to do!

reply to post by beansidhe

Interesting. I like reading about these kind of things.

To really know what's going on here one would have to back Sir Isaac Newton , and trace it from there. I am sure that it is a very long and fascinating story.