There are many interesting buildings along Edinburgh's "Royal Mile" between the Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Gladstone's Land is certainly one of them.
It was bought and extended by Thomas Gledstanes in 1617 (though it had originally been built in the previous century) and was a typical house of its time. In 1934 it was condemned and was about to be pulled down but was rescued by the National Trust for Scotland who have restored it to illustrate what life was like in the 17th century with open fires, no running water but packed full of furniture of the period.
During restoration, painted ceilings were uncovered and the arcade frontage providing shelter for the customers (typical of the shop frontages popular in the 17th century) has been restored. Typical of Edinburgh buildings of its day, it rises to six stories. Various floors in the building would have been rented out by Thomas Gledstones. "Gled" is the Scots word for a hawk, which explains the (modern) hanging sign outside the building which has the date 1617 surmounted by a gilt-copper hawk with outstretched wings (see above).
