Edinburgh Royal Mile - John Knox House and Well

Comment

Laurie Thompson

Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England

Thank you to Laurie Thompson who wrote:

Post Card

John Knox House

"I was looking at this old, but good quality, photo postcard of John Knox's House that I recently bought, when something caught my eye.

Photo 1.

John Knox House and Old Well

W J Hay 'Knox Series' postcard

© Laurie Thompson, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England

On the stone plinth - which I think may be an old public water pump/well/fountain - in front of the house itself, there's some chalked or scratched graffiti."

Photo 2.

Graffiti on the Old Well

zoom-in to detail on Photo 1 above.

© Laurie Thompson, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England

'HIBEES'

"Out of curiosity, I enlarged it on the computer and, unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, the largest word in block capitals seems to be "HIBEES" (with the final S a little squashed).

If this is a reference to the Hibs, I'm astonished, as I don't remember hearing this nickname for the club in common usage until around the 1970s or 1980s.

Can any of your EdinPhoto readers provide an alternative explanation for the graffiti word, or else throw some light on when the nickname was first used for the Hibs?

I've checked the Club's website and other internet sources without any luck."

Laurie Thompson, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England: August 18, 2014

Comment

Peter Stubbs

Edinburgh

'HIBEES'

"Hi Laurie. Thanks for your question and for letting me see the copy of your postcard showing the graffiti. I believe that WJ Hay produced his 'Knox Series' of postcards in the early 1900's, so I expect his photo would have ben taken some time between about 1900 and 1914.

I've sent an email to Ewan Macdonald, asking him if he knows when 'HIBEES' was first used as a nickname. (Ewan wrote a page for the internet in 2005, giving the nicknames of many football clubs, including Hibernian FC, now usually referred to as 'Hibs' or 'Hibees'."

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: August 19, 2014

Comment

Ewan Macdonald

Dallas, Texas, USA

Thank you to Ewan Macdonald for the quick response to my question about when the 'HIBEES' nickname was first used.

Ewan replied:

'HIBEES'

"My guess is that the nickname 'HIBEES' will be very, very old, possibly dating back to the 19th century, but that's just an educated guess.

There are suggestions here and perhaps elsewhere on the Hibs Net web site that the name 'HIBEES' dates back to at least 1900.

Some of the older people, well into the twentieth century, used to pronounce the club's name as 'high-bernian'. (The 'blazers' they wheeled out for cup draws were especially good at this, but for younger supporters, the name was always pronounced 'hib-ernian'.

Incidentally, there was an East Cast youth team called the 'Hi-Bees' from 1951. I don't know whether or not they had any connection with Hibs FC."

Ewan Macdonald, Dallas, Texas, USA: August 19, 2014 (2 emails)

Comment

Douglas Bryce

Pilton, Edinburgh

Dougie Bryce wrote

'HIBEES' and 'JAMBOS' **

"This would be about the time that Hibs last won the Scottish Cup."

Sorry Peter: as a Jambo, I couldn't resist pointing this out."

Douglas Bryce, Pilton, Edinburgh: August 20, 2014

** Jambo = Hearts supporter

Comment

William Lewis

Dallas, Texas, USA

Dougie Bryce wrote:

'HIBEES'

"When I was young, growing up in Leith in the late-1940s and early- 1950s, we had a phrase: 'It will give ye the Hibees' i.e. the creeps. Hibees were creepy crawly things."

William Lewis, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: August 20, 2014

Response from Peter Stubbs:

'Heebie Jeebies'

"The expression that I would recognise is:

'It will give you the Heebie Jeebies.' or
'It will give you the Heebies rather than
'It will give you the Hibees'!

According to Wikipedia:

- 'Heebie Jeebies' was a single by Louis Armstrong (1926).

- 'Heeby Jeebies' was a single by Little Richard (1956).

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: August 20, 2014

Comment

Laurie Thompson

Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England

Thank you to Laurie Thompson for letting me see another of his postcards of John Knox House in the Royal Mile - a 'Castle Series' postcard, posted in 1910. (See Photos 3 and 4 below.)

Laurie wrote:

Photo 3.

John Knox House and Old Well

'Castle Series' postcard

Enlarge this Photo

Dates of the Photos

"John Knox House:

- appears to have had a fresh lick of paint, or a fresh rendering, in Photo 1.

- has a run-down appearance in Photo 3.
This card was posted from The Old Waverley Hotel on August 4, 1910.**

** However, the photo on this card may well have been taken before 1910 - Peter Stubbs: August 23, 2014

This suggests to me that Photo 3 pre-dates Photo 1.

Photo 4.

Graffiti on the Old Well

zoom-in to detail on Photo 3 above.

Graffiti

"The hieroglyphics on the water fountain structure above are similar to those on the Knox Series card in Photos 2 above.

Unfortunately though, the graffiti in Photo 4 is not (at least to me) legible as any recognizable word. Maybe it had been defaced by an irate 'Jam Tarts' supporter! If you or any of your readers can decipher it, I'd be interested to hear."

Businesses

"Maybe some clue about the respective dates of the two postcards above can be obtained from the fact that:

- in the 'Knox Series' card (Photo 1) Hay's shop itself is clearly discernible, whereas

- in the 'Castle Series' card (Photo 3) the same shop is identified as being a Refreshment Room (Bells? Boswells? Maxwells?) selling, among other things, fish and tripe.

On a separate note, would any wood craftsman nowadays advertise himself as being a Fancy Turner, as Mr George McKay, the crown green bowls maker, whose establishment is on the left of Photo 3, was happy to do?"

Laurie Thompson, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England: August 22, 2014