Gladstone’s Land
Address: 477B Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2NT
This historic tenement building on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile was built in 1550 and redeveloped into fine residential apartments between 1617 and 1620. The bottom floor was a high-end grocers, and the distinctive arches on the shop’s frontage are the last surviving of their kind on the Royal Mile. The property is now owned by the National Trust and has been meticulously restored, as an example of 17th century accommodation for the wealthy.
Gladstone’s Land gets its name from Thomas Gledstanes (or Gladstone), the merchant who owned and remodelled the apartments in 1617. Step back in time with a visit to these fascinating apartments and discover what life was like for its previous tenants.
5 things to do at Gladstone’s Land
- Spot Gladstone Land’s iconic sculpture of a golden hawk clutching a mouse, which hangs above the entrance. (The name “Gledstanes” is derived from the Scots word “gled” meaning hawk).
- Explore the 17th century apartments, restored to show how the wealthy lived at the time.
- Look up at the original hand-painted ceilings, which were discovered well-preserved beneath layers of plaster, during restoration work.
- Learn about the property’s past residents, including tenants such as Lord Crichton and Minister William Struthers.
- Visit the gift shop on the ground floor, once a grocers store, and see its surviving Palladian Arches, which saved the building from demolition.
