 In the early 16th century, when the High Street and Cowgate were first being paved out, numerous closes and alleys, or wynds, were constructed. These formed a link between the two main thoroughfares and housed all kinds of shops, stalls and dwellings, above and below the ground. Modern opinion varies, but it seems likely that Marlin's Wynd was named after John Merlouin, the French stonemason who paved the Royal Mile, or superintended the paving of it, around 1550. He and his family had a house at the head of the alley - now the site of Tron Kirk which was built over Marlin's Wynd in 1636 - and Merlouin, or Marlin, is believed to be buried here.
Located midway between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood House (whose ancient gateway was also constructed by Merlouin), Marlin's Wynd was, in the 16th century, a convenient bolthole for the various occupants of both noble establishments who had a tendency to quarrel amongst themselves, when not warring with the English. In 1591, King James VI fled the aggressive advances of the Earl of Bothwell upon Holyrood House and sought refuge in Provost Nicol Edward's fortified mansion, then situated between Marlin's Wynd and it's neighbour, Niddry's Wynd. And in the same year, the Earl of Huntly, at the head of a small army, took off from the house to assassinate the 'Bonny' Earl of Murray at Donibristle in Fife.
The rather bloodthirsty history of the house continues through the late 16th and early 17th centuries, when it saw service as an interrogation centre during the grisly witch-hunts of that time.
In 1786, Nicol Edward's house, by then the property of Lockhart of Carnwath, was demolished to make way for the construction of South Bridge, linking the old town to the south with the new town to the north. At street level, the area changed dramatically as, in 1787, tenements were constructed along the site of the new South Bridge. Below ground, however, the adjoining vaults of Marlin's Wynd, although structurally part of the bridge, continued to be put to use by the occupants of the new tenements.
To the west, at Blair Street, the first occupant was Andrew Wardrop, one of the city's foremost surgeons, who must have found the almost completely sound-proofed cellars ideal for drowning out screams from his operating theatre. To the east, Marlin's Wynd vaults were used by the Stewart family - well respected bankers who are best known for the foundation of Daniel Stewart's college - and less well known for having made a substantial part of their fortune from the slave trade.
Nearly 500 years on, the cellars of Marlin's Wynd have been brought back to life. Restored, renovated and splendidly refurbished, the stone walls glow with candle-light and ring with noise once again.
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