Edinburgh! the Royal Mile – or the high street if you wish.
you may notice this mosaic patterns outside St. Giles Cathedral, – The Heart Of Midlothian. This marked the entrance of a 15th century Toll booth, (demolished ~1817). The administrative center of the town, where proclamations were read aloud, taxes collected and the codenamed executed. a very frightening place indeed.
heart of midlothian high street
The building also features in Sir Walter Scott’s novel, The Heart of Midlothian, published in 1818.
and the name of one of Edinburgh’s Football Teams.
you may also see people spit at the center, this could be interpreted as a sign of disdain to the goverment, the taxes collected, or the people executed, it really depends on whom one asks.
