John Knox House, Medieval house on Royal Mile, Edinburgh, Scotland
John Knox House is a four-story stone building with intricate wooden carvings and painted ceiling details lining the Royal Mile. The facade bears inscriptions naming inhabitants and craftspeople connected to this location.
Built in 1470, this is among the oldest surviving medieval structures on the Royal Mile in its original form. It became linked to religious reformers and remains a window into everyday life from that pivotal time.
The house preserves connections to figures who lived through Edinburgh's religious divide in the 1500s. Visitors can sense how daily life unfolded in rooms tied to that turbulent era of faith and conflict.
The building is accessible from street level with stairs leading through each floor at a manageable pace. Wear comfortable shoes as the original stone stairs are uneven and tight, which is typical of medieval construction.
Renovation work revealed time capsules hidden in the gable wall from the 1840s, containing documents and objects related to when demolition threatened the structure. These discoveries show how people fought to save this old building.
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