White Horse Close, Edinburgh

White Horse Close opens as a compact courtyard reached from the Canongate at the foot of the Royal Mile. Its layered buildings are the result of repeated conversions, and the place has been characterised as “heritage rather than history”. The name has an uncertain origin; the likelier explanation connects it with the White Horse Inn, which occupied the northern end from at least the 17th century.

A local tradition instead links the name with a favourite white palfrey belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots, supposedly kept near the royal palace. Look into the courtyard for the building marked with the date 1632: that tablet was created during restoration in the 1930s, after an earlier date of 1532 was altered. A plaque inside records William Dick’s birth here in 1793; he later founded the Royal School of Veterinary Studies. Beneath the inn, five arches mark former stables, a smithy and coach houses.