The 'Heart of Midlothian', High Street, Edinburgh

The grave of John Byres of Coates, Greyfriars Kirkyard

Sir John Byres of Coates (1569–1629) was a 16th/17th century Scottish banker and merchant who served as Treasurer and

Old Provost The Old Provost is a military prison finished in early 1838 as part of efforts to fortify the small city of Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. These efforts were part of the Governor of the Cape Colony's, Sir Benjamin d'Urban, 1835 de ...

for Edinburgh Town Council. Old Provost is the equivalent of Deputy Provost. Byers Close on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

is named after him.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1569. His background is unclear but he appears to have been from a wealthy family of merchants and bankers. In the late 16th century he bought tenements (from Gilbert Lauder) on the

north of

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

close to the

Old Tolbooth The Old Tolbooth was an important municipal building in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland for more than 400 years. The medieval structure, which was located at the northwest corner of St Giles' Cathedral and was attached to the west end of the Lu ...

and the

Luckenbooths The Luckenbooths were a range of tenements which formerly stood immediately to the north of St. Giles' Kirk in the High Street of Edinburgh from the reign of King James II in the 15th century to the early years of the 19th century. They were de ...

. Here he rented out the flats and ground floor shops and presumably ran his own bank (probably 369 High Street). He was Treasurer of Edinburgh Town Council 1612 to 1615. He also served as Depute Provost (at that time confusingly termed "Old Provost"). In 1615 he built Coates Hall, later called Easter Coates, then west of the city (now lying between Palmerston Place and Manor Place). The building contains carved stone lintels brought from his house on Byers Close, plus a marriage lintel bearing his initials JB (written as IB in old script) and MB for his wife. He served as

Dean of Guild A Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was one of a group of burgh magistrates who, in later years, had the care of buildings. The leader of the group was known as Lord Dean of Guild. Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren o ...

1619 to 1624. He died on 24 November 1629. He is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

. His monument stands on the western wall of the original churchyard, on the lower north section close to the half-sunken vault of

John Baptist Medina Sir John Baptist Medina or John Baptiste de Medina (1659 – 5 October 1710) was an artist of Flemish people, Flemish-Spanish origin who worked in England and Scotland, mostly as a portrait painter, though he was also the first illustrator o ...

. The magnificent monument was created by

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

. His Royal Mile tenements were acquired by

William Dick of Braid Sir William Dick of Braid (1580–1655) was a 17th-century Scottish landowner, banker and merchant who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1638 to 1640. His fortunes took him from being "the richest man in Scotland" in 1650 to his deat ...

after Byres' death.

Family

He first married Margaret Barclay of

Towie ''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Originally ...

. They had one child, a daughter, Rachel Byres. Two other daughters died in infancy. Rachel married Thomas Sydserff. Margaret died in 1616 and in 1617 he secondly married Agnes Smith sister of

John Smith of Grothill Sir John Smith of Grothill and Kings Cramond (c. 1600 – c. 1675) was a 17th-century Scottish landowner and merchant who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1643 to 1646. Life He was the son of Robert Smith and Gillis Mowbray, a daughter ...

(a future Provost of the city). They had six sons and one daughter including his heir: Sir John Byres of Coates and

Warriston Warriston ( ) is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies east of the Royal Botanic Garden in Inverleith. The name derives from Warriston House, a local mansion house demolished in 1966. In July 1600 John Kincaid, the Laird of ...

, 2nd Baronet (1619-1648).

Trivia

Coates Hall was bought by William Walker around 1800. His spinster daughters, Mary and Barbara Walker, gifted both the garden of their home and huge funds to the Episcopal Church of Scotland in 1873 for the building of St Mary's Cathedral. In 1887 (following the death of the sisters) Coates Hall (Easter Coates) became the Cathedral Choir School serving the then newly built St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral being remodelled by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

and

John Oldrid Scott John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect. Biography He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gil ...

, architects for the cathedral next door (which now dwarfs Coates Hall).Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker It is noteworthy that the Walker sisters chose to be buried next to John Byres in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byres, John 1569 births 1629 deaths Politicians from Edinburgh Scottish bankers Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard