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plunge into history – the people’s story

text and photo andrea weil

When a king builds a castle, his name is written into the history books. But who knows the names of the builders who worked for him, or the women who swept the floors? The People’s Story on the Royal Mile is a museum dedicated to the “ordinary” people of Edinburgh, their lives, hardships and struggles for human rights. The collection was built in 1989 out of the private donations of individuals sharing their personal memories, which the curators have displayed all over the exhibition. These words breathe new life into the history of the 18th and 19th century, as do the detailed, lifelike mannequins of the people of Edinburgh’s past, like poor widow Jessie Thompson, whose face speaks of exhaustion and defeat. Entering the Canongate Tolbooth the visitor is immediately captured by the atmosphere: sounds of horseshoes on cobblestones, acts of council pasted to the black stone walls, even the smell of smoking coals. The layout of the exhibition is perhaps not the clearest, but it’s fun poking around discovering the details. Please note that the mannequins are not to be touched and there is a lot of reading, so it might not be the best museum to keep children entertained.

Check out the video room on the top floor of the tower for 22 minutes of interviews.

Canongate Tolbooth, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH8 8BN.

Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm,

Sun 12pm - 5pm (during the Edinburgh Festival only).