The Traditional Belief in John Knox's House at the Nether
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II. THE TRADITIONAL BELIE JOHN FI N KNOX'S NETHERE HOUSTH T EA - BOW VINDICATED. BY CHARLES J. GUTHRIE, Q.C., F.S.A. SCOT. [!N REPLY TO Two PAPERS READ TO THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES JJY ROBERT MILLER, Esq., F.S.A. SCOT.] Amon e servicegth s rendere Scotlano t d thiy b ds learned Societs yha been the preservation, largely through its efforts and influence, of John Knox's house at the Netherbow of Edinburgh. In 1849 the Dean of Guild Court ordered the removal of the house. After much controversy, in which this Society took an active part, that orde s recalledwa r n 1891I a pape . n i , r read before this Societye th , lat r MilleeD r suggested doubte genuinenesth f o shouse th Johf s ea o s n Knox's residence, while at the same time rendering valuable service by establishing e thastructurth t s contemporaneouwa e s with KnoxI . s repliepaperhi d nowo t dan ; n 1899i , , whe e attac th ns bee ha kn renewe r RoberM y b dt Miller r mucou , h respected ex-Dea f Guildo n , 0 25 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , MARC , 189913 H . although on different and on many points inconsistent grounds, I am again allowed the privilege of reply. Was the game of 1849 worth the candle? Is the house now worth preserving , ami or e ;genera th d l destructio d propertol f o n n Edini y - burgh, is it of no importance whether it is removed or not ? The latter opinioe th s i n expressed h yrecena t corresponden Londoe th f o t n Morning Post, following the lines indicated in the paper recently read to this Society, while the New Penny Magazine of London, on the other hand, deplore prospecte sth . This Societ s heeyha u told that considerationf so the value and interest attaching to the house are irrelevant in this dis- t agreno cussion eo d wit I h. that I viewposses f I . sa coi f littlo n e value, extrinsi r intrinsicco a respectabl d an , e person, with some know- ledg coinsf eo ,discoveres tell thaha e se m forgerya h t e e coib dth o nt I , pitc t hawayi , without puttine th informan y f i gm e proof t th Bu o t .t coin, supposing it genuine, is of great and increasing value, known to coin collectors all over the world, and has been, in addition, accepted as genuine by skilled persons for a long period of years, T say to my in- formant, "You may be right. But you have got to prove what you indisputably provo h t t d sayi e an , e evidence. I shal" l show thaI t am entitle o makdt e samth e e deman n relatioi d o Knox'nt s house. How shall we test its value? Let us take the views of authors—anti- quarian, theological, historical, biographical, literary. booke Shoth e swm about Edinburgh antiquities, about the history of Edinburgh, about the sights of Edinburgh, whether produced by Scotsmen, Englishmen, Ameri- cans, or foreigners, whether the works of Dr M'Crie, Dr Chambers, Dr Laing Danier Si , l Wilson Humr D d e,an Brown Roberf o r o , t Louis Steven- son and Mrs Oliphant, or the production of the anonymous writers of guide- books,—shot forwarpu t whicy no d an o Johd he wm n Knox's Houss ea remaininw fe e th f go historicae on l monument Edinburgn si f supremho e human interest. It is enough to refer to one book, and that a book of the highest authority, The Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time, by Sir Daniel Wilson. I quote from the edition of 1891, which con- tain s lateshi s t views, after consideratio late r Miller'th eD f o n s arsu- THE BELIEF IN JOHN KNOX'S HOUSE VINDICATED. 251 ments. e chie"Th f lion amon venerable gth Towd eOl nfabrice th f o s is the singularly picturesque dwelling which has been assigned by long accepted traditio mansioe th s na n provide expense towth e t th da s nf a e o lodgine s firsth it f t o gparis h minister." Take another test. Shoe wm the views of Edinburgh, in paint, engraving, wood-cutting, etching, or photography, which do not include a representation of John Knox's House t formI .frontispiece th s r Daniel-Wilson'Si o t e s second volume. If you cannot show me such books or pictures, then I think you will agree with me that the statements which, if well founded, remove the only sufficient justification for the continued existence of the house, requir e closesth e t scrutiny timen . ow , r Whysinc ou recale en th i , n i l 1850 of the Dean of Guild's order—an order based on a laudable desire for street improvement e genuinenesy doubth an f o e n to th t f o no s, house—the old mansion has been looked at by many millions of passers- by, by all with interest, by vast numbers with reverence. Its rambling, low-roofed rooms s it curiou, s passage d corkscrewan s stairse ar , traversed annuall n increasina y b y g number—last year .fully 6000— e mosth of t culturer visitorsou f o d , British, Continental, Colonial, American r MilleM . r doe t seesno realismo t e thes tols eha d factse H . e s publicbooth hi kn i , called John e Town th Knox d an Council f o Edinburgh (which brings together much valuable informatio thn o ne interesting subject indicated in that title), that the house is " consecrated as the Mecc f Scottisao h religionism, s reputatioit d "an s nattributei o dt wha r MilleM t r call e "neth s w cul f Joho t n Knox, which spranp gu with the advent of that evangelical spirit which gave rise afterwards to the Secession known as the Free Church." I confess this latter view is a now one to me. I am sure the Free Church will gladly accept what most Scotsme l churcheal f no s will conside a grear t (although uninten- tional) compliment. But I had always thought that our modern eman- cipation from the old prejudices about John Knox had been accomplished by Thomas Carlyle membea , churcho n f Jameo ry b , s Anthony Froude, a member of the Church of England, by Thomas M'Crie, an Anti- Burgher, that grand old ' Presbyterian Hildebrand,' as Mr Hallam 252 PEOCEEDINGS OP THE SOCIETY, MARCH 13, 1899. called him, and by David Laing, a member of the Established Church of Scotland e houss tth oA .e bein e "Meccgth f Scottiso a h religionism," were tha sufficiena t t description I ,shoul d still thin t wortki h preserv- ing, if it be the case, as impartial judges assure us, that to the Calvinism and Puritanism, whic hI suppose maie th ne ar characteristic s pointet da e expressiobyth n " Scottish religionism, e gri mose th t f du whic o ts "i h has enabled the poor inhabitants of this sunless, sterile and inclement land of ours to wrest for themselves a commanding position, in every department of life, in every quarter of the globe. "e MeccButh s i t f Scottisao h religionism adequat n "a e descriptiof no John Knox's House ? I take the Visitors' Book for a day in September 1898, and I read the addresses of the earliest visitors on that day :— Bradford. Yorkshire. Neuch&tel, Switzerland. Leicestershire. Sussex. Dungannon, Ireland. Edinburgh. (Scottish reli- Banbury. t gionisnecesNo t? - Liverpool. sarily !) Aberdeen. (Another Scot- Dunedin Zealandw Ne , . tish religionist 1 But Paris, France. a pretty hard-headed Massachusetts. one !) Denmark. Sheffield. Gloucestershire. San Francisco. Chicago. Blairgowrie. Philadelphia. Leeds. Jamaica. London. London. i Llanelly, Wales. t I rather appear e thae lism th t o t shows e housth s o havt e s a e much to do with Mecca as with Scottish religionism! Edinburg s nowadayha h s only three buildings associated witl al h the great actors in what Thomas Carlyle extravagantly calls the only in- THE BELIEF IN JOHN KNOX'g HOUSE VINDICATED. 253 teresting perio Scottisn di h history—the Reformation period,—Jame. sV and Mary of Lorraine; Cardinal Beaton, Sir David Lyndsay, Mary Queen of Scots, the Regents Murray and Morton, Maitland of Lethiiigton, George Buchanan d Johan , n Knox I refer. f coursee Castleo ,th o t ,, e North-west th Giles'S d an , t Towe d Abbean r y Churc f Holyrooo h d House. Connected specially "with John Knox, \ve pride ourselves on two other buildings—the Magdalene Chapel in the Cowgate, where Knox sat as a member of the first General Assembly, and the house at the Netherbow wher e died h en bot I . h these building s beey ha m n t i s privilege to take an interest. The late Mr J. M. Gray and I got up a fund some years ago to preserve from certain destruction the windows in the Magdalene Chapel, which contain the only extant specimens of Scottish pre-Reformation ecclesiastical stained I glasshav d ean ; tried to do something also for John Knox's House, emptying the important upper e miscellaneouroomth f o s s lumber they once containedd an , formin Reformatioga n librar picture-gallerd yan lowee th n yri rooms.