White Horse Close: The Coaching Inn by the Palace
Why is it significant?
Pass under the archway and step into one of the prettiest corners of Edinburgh: a little courtyard of white-harled houses with red roofs, outside stairs, gables and dormer windows, closed at the far end by a building with a double flight of steps.
Key Facts
| Place | White Horse Close: The Coaching Inn by the Palace |
|---|---|
| Address | White Horse Close, Canongate, Edinburgh EH8, UK |
| Geo Coordinates | 55.95290, -3.17560 |
| Part of Walk | Crowns, Kirks and Sanctuary: Edinburgh's Canongate and the Palace of Holyroodhouse |
| Generated | Generated |
Pass under the archway and step into one of the prettiest corners of Edinburgh: a little courtyard of white-harled houses with red roofs, outside stairs, gables and dormer windows, closed at the far end by a building with a double flight of steps. It looks like a stage set for a costume drama, and in a way it is a beautifully restored one.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries this was a coaching inn, the White Horse, at the very bottom of the Royal Mile. Travellers set off from here by stagecoach for London, a journey that in the early days could take well over a week of bumping along muddy roads. Legend says the inn took its name from a white palfrey belonging to Mary Queen of Scots, stabled here beside the palace. It is a lovely story, and there is no evidence for it at all.
In 1745, when Prince Charles Edward Stuart held court at Holyrood, tradition says officers of his Jacobite army lodged at the inn. Picture them in this courtyard, plaids over their shoulders, a stone's throw from the palace where their prince was dancing, believing for a few autumn weeks that the Stuart crown was coming home.
By the nineteenth century the White Horse had sunk into slum housing, like much of the Canongate, with whole families living in single rooms. Towards the end of that century it was reconstructed as homes for working people, and in the 1960s it was restored again, which is why it looks so crisp today. What you see is partly old fabric and partly a Victorian and modern dream of the Old Town. Edinburgh has always been good at that.
As you leave, look down at the roadway where the Canongate turns into Abbey Strand. Set into the cobbles are brass letters S. They mark the edge of the old abbey sanctuary, and you will hear more about them soon. Now walk the last few steps to the tall iron gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse and look through into the forecourt with its fountain.