The Heart of Midlothian

Walking up from the flat to the library today I walked past the heart of Midlothian and took a few photos.

It is a heart-shaped mosaic built into the roadway near the West Door of St Giles High Kirk on the Royal Mile not far from Parliament House, which was the former Parliament of Scotland, and now the site of the Court of Session and Signet Library.
Together with brass markers set into the pavement, it records the position of the 15th-century Old Tolbooth, demolished in 1817, which was the administrative centre of the town, prison and one of several sites of public execution. The tolbooth features in Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Heart of Midlothian, published in 1818. I loved this book when I read it at University.


It is meant to be a tradition to spit on the Heart. (I didn't) The heart marks the doorway of the prison. Although it now said to be done for good luck, it was originally done as a sign of disdain for the former prison. The spot lay directly outside the prison entrance, so the custom may have been begun by debtors on their release.