DiscoverScroll article

The Edinburgh Vaults or South Bridge Vaults are a series of chambers formed in the nineteen arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland.

South Bridge was part of the South Bridge Act 1785 and was completed in 1788. For around 30 years, the vaults were used to house taverns, workshops for cobblers and other tradesmen, as well as storage space for said merchants. In later years, the vaults were a hotspot for the homeless and for criminal activity such as illegal gambling taverns, illegal whisky distillery and, according to rumour, bodysnatchers stored corpses there overnight. There is however no proof that the serial killers Burke and Hare ever used the vaults. As the conditions in the vaults deteriorated, mainly because of damp and poor air quality, the businesses left in the 1820s and the very poorest of Edinburgh's citizens moved in, though by around 1860, even they are believed to have left too.

Edinburgh was a growing community in the late 18th century and two bridges were built to facilitate the expansion, North Bridge and South Bridge, known locally as 'The Bridges'. The South Bridge, built to span the Cowgate gorge between High Street and the growing University of Edinburgh on the Southside, was first proposed in 1775, although work did not begin until August 1785. In total, there are approximately 120 rooms or 'vaults' beneath the surface of the South Bridge, ranging in size from two metres squared to forty metres squared.

The vault rooms, used as storage space and workshops for the South Bridge businesses, operated as intended for a relatively short space of time. Abandonment of the vaults began as early as 1795. With the vaults being gradually abandoned by the businesses on the bridge, the empty rooms were adopted and adapted by new users. The vaults were lighted with fish oil lamps, which combined with the stench of stale waste and chamber pots made the area barely habitable. There is no evidence that Burke and Hare, the infamous serial killers who sold corpses to medical schools, used the vaults for their body snatching activities. Gorie and McNaugton, officers, discovered a private distillery, of considerable extent, under the arch of the South Bridge, which has been working these 18 months past, to the great injury of the revenue. Written records regarding the vaults during their slum use are virtually non-existent. The vaults were rediscovered by former Scottish rugby internationalist, Norrie Rowan, after he found a tunnel leading to them in the 1980s. The vaults were excavated by Norrie Rowan and his son Norman Rowan in the 1990s.

The vaults on the north side of the Cowgate arch form a series of tunnels and vaults and are mainly used for ghost tours. The vaults on the south side of the Cowgate arch form a venue called The Caves and The Rowantree, which hosts private events, weddings, private dining, live music and the occasional club night. During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, the vaults that make up The Caves and The Rowantree, along with several normally unused vaults, are transformed into a major festival venue hosting over 60 different shows a day.

Swash was the only person in the vaults and did not hear the voices himself at the time of recording, despite the sounds being audible on his own microphone.

In August 2023, a play about the Vaults premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ford, tells the story of the Great Fire of Edinburgh from the point of view of a teenage resident of the Vaults. In Gary Mill's novel 'Blackfriar', much of the action takes place in the Edinburgh Vaults. In Maggie Craig's novel 'One Sweet Moment', the protagonist Catriona Dunbar and her family live in the vaults inside the South Bridge.

Quick Facts

• South Bridge was part of the South Bridge Act 1785 and was completed in 1788.
• During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, the vaults that make up The Caves and The Rowantree, along with several normally unused vaults, are transformed into a major festival venue hosting over 60 different shows a day.
• In later years, the vaults were a hotspot for the homeless and for criminal activity such as illegal gambling taverns, illegal whisky distillery and, according to rumour, bodysnatchers stored corpses there overnight.
• For around 30 years, the vaults were used to house taverns, workshops for cobblers and other tradesmen, as well as storage space for said merchants.
• There is however no proof that the serial killers Burke and Hare ever used the vaults.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Edinburgh Vaults". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.