Lady Stair's House is a building, completed in 1892, which stands in Lady Stair's Close in

Lawnmarket The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal Mile runs between two ...

, Edinburgh, Scotland. The structure is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, having received its designation in 1970. Today it is home to the

Writers' Museum The Writers’ Museum, housed in Lady Stair’s House, Lady Stair's House at the Lawnmarket on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, presents the lives of three of the foremost Scottish writers: Robert Burns, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Ru ...

. The current building is a faux-medieval work by

Stewart Henbest Capper Stewart Henbest Capper (15 December 1859 – 8 January 1925) was a prominent architect in the Arts and Crafts style closely associated with Sir Patrick Geddes with much of his work mislabelled as Geddes'. Due to ill health he did not achie ...

dating from 1892. It was presented by the Earl of Roseberry (who probably commissioned the work) to the city for use as a museum in 1907. Only then did it acquire the name of "Lady Stair's House". It incorporates replicas of various carved stones probably from the earlier building. The house it replaced was demolished in 1890. Lady Stair's House (3 Lady Stair's Close, 477 Lawnmarket) is located within

Lady Stair's Close Lady Stair's Close (477 Lawnmarket) is a close in Edinburgh, Scotland, just off the Royal Mile, close to the entrance to Gladstone's Land. Most notably it contains the Scottish Writers' Museum. History Located in Edinburgh's Lawnmarket, Lady ...

, just off the Lawnmarket. The original house was built in 1622 for

Sir William Gray of Pittendrum ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

. The

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

over the entrance is dated 1622 and carries the initials WG and GS, for William Gray and Geida (or Egidia) Smith, his wife (sister of Provost

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 Gillis Mowbr ...

), and the inscription "FEARE THE LORD AND DEPART FROM EVILL". Their son was the Scots Worthy Andrew Gray whose books became well-known despite dying at an early age. The building was initially known as Lady Gray's House and the close known as Lady Gray's Close because Sir William Grey's wife, Lady Grey, continued to live in the house after his death in 1648.Wall Text, ''Lady Stair's House'', Writer's Museum, Edinburgh The

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

is now named after the Gray's granddaughter: the society beauty Lady Stair, Elizabeth, Dowager Countess of Stair (née Elizabeth Dundas), the widow of

John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair PC (10 November 1648 – 8 January 1707) was a Scottish politician and lawyer. As Joint Secretary of State in Scotland 1691–1695, he played a key role in suppressing the Jacobite rising of 1689 and was force ...

. She purchased the building in 1719. In 1825, Lady Stair's House was bought by John Russel, a brushmaker whose family lived in the house until 1895. In the 1890s, the original building was inherited by

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

. He was prompted to do so by the town planner

Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban plannin ...

, who had been campaigning for a renewal programme in Edinburgh's Old Town, largely demolished by the City Improvement Schemes of the 19th century. The rebuilding of 1892 included nothing of the original building other than unseen basement areas. In 1907, the Earl gave the house to the royal burgh of Edinburgh, for use as a municipal museum. Lady Stair's House is designated a Category A

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

References

{{reflist Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Royal Mile 1622 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1622 Listed houses in Scotland Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery

See also

References