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that the clergy commuted the sentence on the younger sister. Sinclair and his older sister were placed in a large chest with holes drilled in it and thrown into the loch to drown. Two centuries later, in 1820, the chest was rediscovered by workmen digging a drain near the
Wellhouse Tower of the Castle.
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However, in 1685 the law of
Scotland outlawed drowning as a form of execution. Before then many lives were taken. On one day in 1624, eleven women were drowned. Four years later, George Sinclair confessed to committing incest with his two sisters. All three were sentenced to death, but it was said
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The Nor Loch was never a source of drinking water, and indeed was probably highly polluted, being largely stagnant and used as a dumping ground for rubbish over and above being the termination point of many of the Old Town's open sewers. However, there was a drinking water source at its edge. The
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Punishment: It is a popularly held myth that the Nor' Loch was the site of 'witch ducking' in
Edinburgh. 'Witch ducking' or 'the swimming test' was employed by witchcraft prosecutors in some areas of Europe as a method of identifying whether or not a suspect was guilty of witchcraft. However,
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Because the Old Town was built on a steep ridge, it expanded on an east-west axis, eastwards from the castle; expansion northward, as would happen with the later New Town, was extremely difficult at this point. The Nor Loch was thus a hindrance to both invaders and town growth.
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The two storey structure was a drinking water source for the castle. It had timber steps leading up the steep slope back to the castle but most water was taken up by crane. It was in ruins by the seventeenth century and little remains today.
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wellhouse tower was built in 1362 and had two functions: bridging the small gap in the city fortifications between
Edinburgh Castle and the Nor Loch; and protecting and covering a well going down to natural ground water level below the loch.
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explained that, "One side of the town is 'unwallit', and the frost may give occasion to assault it that way with far less difficulty than otherwise", suggesting that the requested
English army could cross the frozen Loch.
328:, who was present at the work in the gardens, reported that the skeleton of a tall man was found between those of two women. Later 19th-century accounts report only two skeletons being found in the chest.
290:, the Nor Loch became similarly polluted, by sewage, household waste, and general detritus thrown down the hillside. The loch was never used as drinking water but there were wells beside it (see below).
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Defence: Scotland, and particularly
Edinburgh, suffered frequent English invasions during the period of intermittent Anglo-Scottish wars from the 13th to 16th centuries.
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area. Like the Nor Loch, this was mostly marshland, rather than a true loch. It was reclaimed for a park, housing and to build the railway to the
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Although the Nor Loch was drained during the 19th century, neither its legacy nor its name are entirely forgotten. During the construction of
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are the only remaining natural lochs in the city while St. Margaret's and
Dunsapie Lochs, also in Holyrood Park, are artificial.
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there is little evidence that 'witch ducking' was utilised as a means of identifying witches in
Scottish witchcraft trials.
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Draining of the western end was undertaken 1813 to 1820, under supervision by the engineer
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Edinburgh Castle with the Nor Loch in the foreground, c. 1690. Part of an engraving by
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ordered the hollow to be flooded in order to complete the defences of the town and
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Draining of the Nor Loch began at the eastern end to allow construction of the
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The Nor Loch fulfilled a variety of other roles during this period including:
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were created in the 1820s and now occupy much of the loch's former extent.
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and the railway lines through the area, a number of bones were uncovered.
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The Nor Loch is not the only "lost loch" in the city. Another example is
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Castle And Town, Chapters In The
History Of The Royal Burgh Of Edinburgh
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gave the Town
Council title to the land, pools and marshes of the loch.
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A marsh formed in the hollow and was part of the natural defence of the
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Loch once stretched from today's Dundas Street to Rodney Street.
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Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford McWilliam and Walker
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The depression, along with the parallel one now occupied by the
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As the Old Town became ever more crowded during the
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In the winter of 1571, as part of a plan to end the
62:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
569:. Lancaster: Scotforth Books Ltd. pp. 37–38.
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481:. Lancaster: Scotforth Books Ltd. pp. 2–4.
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307:Crime: The loch appears to have been used as a
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300:Suicides: The Nor Loch was a common spot for
27:Lake in Edinburgh, Scotland – drained in 1820
282:Site of the Nor Loch after draining, c. 1781
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122:Learn how and when to remove this message
504:, vol.4 (1905), pp.63. Morton's Demands.
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371:East Princes Street Gardens in 2005
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567:The Nor Loch, Scotland's Lost Loch
518:. Lancaster: Scotforth Books Ltd.
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615:(Oliver And Boyd, 1928)
457:Edinburgh-Royalmile.com
326:James Skene of Rubislaw
383:Princes Street Gardens
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409:The Meadows
288:Middle Ages
245:castle rock
218:Castle Rock
208:during the
151:John Slezer
655:Categories
462:2 November
436:References
415:Canonmills
399:South Gyle
186:Royal Mile
166:North Loch
82:newspapers
71:"Nor Loch"
395:Gogarloch
309:smuggling
304:attempts.
266:In 1603,
174:Edinburgh
162:Nor' Loch
235:In 1460
230:Old Town
164:and the
158:Nor Loch
625:55°57′N
397:in the
302:suicide
202:Cowgate
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103:JSTOR
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