Old Tolbooth prison in Edinburgh
E756660
The Old Tolbooth prison in Edinburgh was a notorious medieval civic building used as a jail and place of execution, long remembered as a symbol of harsh justice in the city’s history.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh Tolbooth (as execution site) | 1 |
| Old Tolbooth, Edinburgh | 0 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
civic building
ⓘ
former prison ⓘ historical building ⓘ place of execution ⓘ |
| appearsIn | The Heart of Midlothian NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| architecturalStyle | medieval ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Covenanters
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
public hangings ⓘ religious persecution in Scotland ⓘ |
| builtInCentury | 14th century ⓘ |
| country | Scotland ⓘ |
| culturalMeaning |
emblem of civic authority in historic Edinburgh
ⓘ
symbol of old Scottish judicial system ⓘ |
| demolishedBy | Edinburgh civic authorities ⓘ |
| demolishedIn | 1817 ⓘ |
| demolishedInCentury | 19th century ⓘ |
| depictedBy | Walter Scott NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| function |
council house
ⓘ
meeting place of the Scottish Estates ⓘ |
| governedBy | Edinburgh Town Council NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasFeature |
clock tower
ⓘ
dungeon-like interiors ⓘ narrow cells ⓘ steeple ⓘ |
| heritageStatus | no longer extant ⓘ |
| knownFor |
notoriously harsh prison conditions
ⓘ
public executions ⓘ role in Edinburgh civic history ⓘ |
| literaryRole | central setting in Walter Scott’s novel The Heart of Midlothian ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Edinburgh
ⓘ
Scotland ⓘ United Kingdom ⓘ |
| locatedNear | St Giles’ Cathedral NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedOn | Royal Mile NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| material | stone ⓘ |
| memorializedBy | Heart of Midlothian paving pattern on the Royal Mile NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| rebuiltInCentury | 16th century ⓘ |
| reputation | one of the most feared prisons in Scotland ⓘ |
| successorBuilding | Edinburgh City Chambers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| symbolOf | harsh justice in Edinburgh ⓘ |
| usedAs |
civic administration building
ⓘ
jail ⓘ place of public execution ⓘ |
| usedFor |
imprisonment of debtors
ⓘ
imprisonment of political prisoners ⓘ imprisonment of religious dissenters ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Scottish Maiden
this entity surface form:
Edinburgh Tolbooth (as execution site)