Nicol Muschat (1695–1721) was a Scottish physician, remembered for his murder of his teenage wife, Margaret Hall (1704-1720).

Life

He was born in 1695, possibly at Boghall Farmhouse on Biggar Road just south-west of

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 ...

, as he is often referred to as "Muschat of Boghall". His father died when he was young, and he was raised by his mother; the family appears to have been relatively wealthy. While studying medicine at Edinburgh University he resided in the top floor of the Auld Cameronian Meeting House on the east side of Blackfriars Wynd just off 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 ...

. In 1715, he served as assistant to Dr Thomas Napier in Alloa on the opposite side of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

. In less than a year he returned to Edinburgh where he lodged on Anchor Close and took a job as a shop assistant nearby on the

. In 1719 a customer called Margaret Hall caught his eye. She was the daughter of a wealthy wine merchant further up the street at Castlehill. He married her on 5 September 1719, three weeks after meeting her. They lived some weeks with her parents, then found their own lodgings on St Mary's Wynd (now called St Mary Street). Nicol had three friends in Edinburgh with whom he both confided his plans and sought their aid: James Campbell of Burnbank (the storekeeper at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

); James Muschat (his cousin); and James' wife, Grizel. They made three failed attempts on her life (according to his own confession at trial). Firstly, being given 20 guineas by Muschat, they attempted to murder her on Dickson's Close. Secondly, in November 1719, Campbell of Burnbank was offered the immediate repayment of Muschat's debt of 900

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

, to fabricate some crime against his wife, but this did not materialise. Thirdly his brother James and his wife were minded to poison her, but although administering

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

in a glass of brandy, she did not die. A scheme to drown her in a ditch at the side of Easter Road after a trip to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

was abandoned. Grizel, frustrated by the lack of payment, due to the failed schemes, pressed the men to continue with their murder plans. Finally, on 17 October 1720, Muschat had been drinking with James until 7 pm and returned to his house on St Mary's Wynd where Grizel sat with Margaret. He invented a story of wishing to walk to Duddingston and they started walking down The Canongate, leaving James and Grizel in his house. Margaret started crying in St Anne's Yards, just east of Holyrood, suspecting something afoot. He declared if she did not accompany him to Duddingston, he would never speak to her again. They reached a point on the north edge of Holyrood Park then highly distant from any house. Here he slit her throat and left her. He returned home to confess the crime to his brother. Margaret's body was found around 10 am on the following day. She was easily identified and Nicol went into hiding in

where he tried to gain passage on a ship to Europe. Meanwhile, Grizel, worrying about her own potential prosecution, revealed Nicol's location to the town guard whilst seeking indemnity against prosecution for herself and her husband. She led the guard to his whereabouts in Leith, and Nicol was arrested. Grizel received a reward from the town council for this act. He confessed all, including the earlier failed plans. He was held at the Tolbooth Prison. He was hanged in the Grassmarket on 6 January 1721. James and Grizel Muschat escaped all punishment and further turned

King's evidence A criminal turns state's evidence by admitting guilt and testifying as a witness for the state against their associate(s) or accomplice(s), often in exchange for leniency in sentencing or immunity from prosecution.Howard Abadinsky, ''Organized C ...

against James Campbell. Campbell was tried in March for " art and part" (aiding and abetting) in the crimes. He was sentenced to transportation for life to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

as a slave on the plantations.

Memorial

Local people raised a stone

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

in 1721. The original cairn was removed in 1789 during improvements to the park, but was rebuilt in 1823 a few metres east of the original site. The 19th century cairn was around in diameter and 2 m tall, and appears to have remained intact until the Second World War when it was partially pulled down, thereafter lacking its original height and form. It now remains as a somewhat sprawling stack of stones, and lacks a man-made or purposeful appearance. The cairn stands opposite the East Lodge at the Meadowbank entrance into Holyrood Park.

In popular culture

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

's book ''The Heart of Midlothian'', Muschat's Cairn was the rendezvous point of Butler and Jeanie Deans.The Waverley Anecdotes 1833

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muschat, Nicol 1695 births 1721 deaths Criminals from Edinburgh Scottish people convicted of murder People executed by Scotland by hanging Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 18th-century executions by Scotland