HOUSE OF GAVIN DOUGLAS THE POET—SKIRMISH OF
CLEANSE-THE-CAUSEWAY—COLLEGE WYND—BIRTHPLACE OF SIR WALTER
SCOTT—THE HORSE WYND—TAM O’ THE COWGATE—MAGDALEN CHAPEL.
Looking at the present state of this ancient street, it is impossible
to hear without a smile the description of it given by Alexander
Alesse about the year 1530—_Ubi nihil est humile aut rusticum, sed
omnia magnifica!_ (‘Where nothing is humble or homely, but everything
magnificent!’) The street was, he tells us, that in which the nobles
and judges resided, and where the palaces of princes were situated. The
idea usually entertained of its early history is that it rose as an
elegant suburb after the year 1460, when the existing city, consisting
of the High Street alone, was enclosed in a wall. It would appear,
however, that some part of it was built before that time, and that it
was in an advanced, if not complete, state as a street not long after.
It was to enclose this esteemed suburb that the city wall was extended
after the battle of Flodden.