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All the United Kingdom Scotland Edinburgh The Flodden Wall

The Flodden Wall

Remnants of the 16th-century defensive wall still stand unassumingly within Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Added By
Lauren Reid
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The Flodden Wall at Greyfriars Kirkyard.   Rick2007/Public Domain
The Flodden Wall at Greyfriars Kirkyard.   Rick2007/Public Domain
Reduced bastion of the 16th-century Flodden Wall (center) with Edinburgh Castle behind and the 17th-century Telfer Wall on the right.   Jonathan Oldenbuck/CC BY-SA 3.0
Corner of the 16th-century Flodden Wall at the junction of Drummond Street and the Pleasance.   Jonathan Oldenbuck/CC BY-SA 3.0
Flodden Wall in Greyfriars Kirkyard.   Ben Heathwood/CC BY 2.0
Flodden Wall plaque.   Alan Murray-Rust/CC BY-SA 2.0
Granite paving marking the line of the 16th-century Flodden Wall in the Grassmarket.   Jonathan Oldenbuck/CC BY-SA 3.0
Edinburgh in the 17th century, with the Flodden Wall in the forefront.   Wenceslas Hollar (1670)/Public Domain
Flodden Wall in Greyfriars Kirkyard.   stu smith/CC BY-ND 2.0
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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Pleasence   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Flodden Wall with Edinburgh Castle in the background   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
EDINBURGH CASTLE IN BACKGROUND   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
The Flodden Wall at Greyfriars Cemetery   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
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Forrest Rd   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Forrest Rd   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Flodden Wall   okami0731 / Atlas Obscura User
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Section of the Flodden Wall inside Greyfrairs Kirkyard   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
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Flodden Wall at Greyfriars Cemetery   allibutno / Atlas Obscura User
Flodden Wall at Greyfriars Cemetery   allibutno / Atlas Obscura User
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Vennel Steps   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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About

While exploring Edinburgh, it’s easy to walk by pieces of the past without even realizing it. Some of the walls, which blend in seamlessly with even the newer buildings, have their own centuries-old histories that hint at the city's former fortifications.

The Flodden Wall was completed in 1560 to protect the city against an English invasion that never came. After Scottish forces were defeated and King James IV was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, Edinburgh officials feared the victorious English troops would soon descend upon the ancient Scottish city. So, as leaders who fear outsiders tend to do, they decided to build a wall to defend their domain.

The 24-foot-tall wall encased a 140-acre area. About 10,000 people lived within its confines. Six ports guarded the entrances in and out of the walled city, which also helped control smuggling.

Though the English never did actually invade after the Battle of Flodden, the wall played an important role in protecting Edinburgh from the turbulent times that rocked the city during the 16th century, when different groups attempted to besiege the castle. The massive cannon Mons Meg was even used to destroy the buildings snipers had settled in outside the wall.

The Flodden Wall, along with the other two walls built to encase the city, was eventually ruined in the 18th century. As Edinburgh expanded, the barriers became a hindrance rather than a help. Roads and buildings like the University of Edinburgh’s Old College were constructed over crumbling sections of the abandoned walls. Part of the Flodden Wall that surrounds Greyfriars Kirk was even destroyed in what is believed to have been a freak lightning strike.

The few fragments of the Flodden Wall that survive are protected monuments. The portion around Greyfriars Kirkyard is the most well known, but you can also see stretches of the old stones where Drummond Streets meets the Pleasance and on Forrest Road.

Related Tags

Walls Cities Urban Planning Military History Forts Military

Know Before You Go

Some surviving fragments of the Flodden Wall can be found in Greyfriars Kirkyard, along the narrow Vennel leading to the Grassmarket, and running down Drummond Street to the Pleasance.

Community Contributors

Added By

laurenreid

Edited By

Jaszmina Szendrey, SEANETTA, Kerry Wolfe, Collector of Experiences...

  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • SEANETTA
  • Kerry Wolfe
  • Collector of Experiences
  • rbenn250
  • katielou106
  • allibutno
  • okami0731

Published

October 13, 2017

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_town_walls#Flodden_Wall
  • http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM3013
  • https://canmore.org.uk/site/118754/edinburgh-drummond-street-flodden-wall
  • http://www.greyfriarskirk.com/heritage
  • http://www.eeo.ed.ac.uk/public/hsy/
The Flodden Wall
26 Pleasance
Edinburgh, Scotland
United Kingdom
55.948427, -3.183751
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