Cities evolve.

Over the centuries, cities change their character: old buildings are torn down, or abandoned, while new buildings are erected. They grow, shrink, or sometimes disappear altogether.

Sometimes you can find traces of what once was. Other times nothing is left.

Keep reading to discover some of the buildings of Edinburgh that are gone, but not forgotten.

Kirk o’Field

Built: 13^th century

Location: between South College Street and Chambers Street

Status: Demolished (early 17^th century)

Officially the Collegiate Church of St Mary in the Fields, but commonly known as Kirk o’Field, this church was probably founded by the monks of Holyrood Abbey, who were well-connected to the Scottish monarch. Demolished in the early 17^th century, the church has no connection with the modern parish church of the same name.

Kirk o’Field is most notably associated with one of the most enduring mysteries in Scottish history. On February 10, 1567, there was an explosion at the church complex. The provost’s house and several other buildings were destroyed. Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was found partially naked and strangled to death. Who did it? Was Mary involved? We’ll likely never know.

Want to read more about Mary, Queen of Scots? Check out my article here!

Chancelot Mill

Built: 1892-1894

Location: Leith

Status: Demolished (1971)

The Industrial Revolution didn’t transform Edinburgh as it did Scotland’s other major city, Glasgow, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t industry in the city. In the late 19^th century, the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society (SCWS) opened Chancelot Mill, a flour mill from where flour and meal were exported to Europe.

Dubbed “the most handsome flour mill in the world,” its clock tower was a landmark of north Edinburgh. Eventually becoming outdated as technology changed, operations were eventually moved to a new location. The old mill was gutted by fire and finally demolished in 1971.

Golfers Land

Built: c. 1680s

Location: Royal Mile

Status: Demolished (1960)

If you guessed that this building has something to do with golf, you’d be right. The modern game of gold originated in Scotland in the late Middle Ages.

In 1681, a couple of Englishmen claimed that golf was, in fact, English. The future King James VII of Scotland (and II of England) protested this and it was decided the matter would be settled, appropriately enough, in a game of golf.

James selected John Paterson, a cobbler who was reputed to be the best golfer in Scotland, to be his teammate. The pair won the game, the honor of Scotland, and the prize money. John used the money to build a house that he named Golfers Land. It stood until 1960, when it was demolished, although a plaque exists commemorating the event.

Holyrood Abbey

Built: 1128

Location: next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse

Status: Ruined (since the 18^th century)

King David I was hunting in Edinburgh when he fell from his horse. About to be gored by a deer, he was saved after a cross appeared between the animal’s antlers. In Thanksgiving, the king founded Holyrood Abbey (“Holyrood” translating to “holy cross”).

From then on, Holyrood Abbey enjoyed a close association with Scotland’s monarchs, who eventually built the next-door Palace of Holyroodhouse. Royals were born, married, crowned, and buried within the abbey. Among the weddings celebrated at the abbey was that of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII of England.

After the collapse of the abbey roof in the 18^th century, the building was left in its current ruinous state, which you can still view on a visit to Holyrood House.

Portobello Pier

Built: 1871

Location: Portobello

Status: Demolished (1917)

Pleasure piers were popular in Victorian Britain, when the introduction of rail meant that people could more easily move around and mass tourism was born. Victorian Britons loved the seaside, and a number of piers, which provided amusement, arose.

Edinburgh jumped on this bandwagon by building Portobello Pier. 380m (or 1250 ft) long, it included a tea room, camera obscura, and concert hall in its heyday. The need to use the pier as part of the war effort during World War I saw to its demise, and it was demolished in 1917.

Old Tolbooth

Built: late 1300s

Location: northwest corner of St. Giles’ Cathedral

Status: Demolished (1817)

From medieval times to the 19^th century, a tolbooth was the municipal building of a Scottish town. That’s exactly what the Old Tolbooth was: during the over 400 years of its existence, it served as an early meeting place for the Scottish Parliament and the Court of Session (Scotland’s supreme court), a jail, and a place of execution.

One of the most notable prisoners at Old Tolbooth was James Douglas, 4^th Earl of Morton. A 16^th century nobleman, he was one of the leaders in the murder of David Rizzio, Mary, Queen of Scots’ private secretary who was killed in front of the pregnant queen. He also became regent during the minority of the young king James VI, becoming the most powerful man in the country before being stripped of his power and executed.

Luckenbooths

Built: 1440

Location: Royal Mile

Status: Demolished (1802 – 1817)

The Luckenbooths were residential tenement shops. On the street-facing side of the first floor were lockable booths – lukenbooths – from which goods could be sold. (Think modern-day market stalls.) It wasn’t just goods that were sold, either; a few luckenbooths offered services such as printing presses and postal services.

One of the people who set up shop here was William Creech, who published the poems of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet. By the early 1800s, the Luckenbooths were causing too much congestion in the streets and were removed. Brass bricks now mark the spot where these lively stalls once stood.

Don’t forget to check out more Historic Things to See Along the Royal Mile!