When we think about Edinburgh's bloody past, it's usually in the context of the Old Town - Burke and Hare, the gallows at the Grassmarket, the death of Lord Darnley. But in 1717, the area we now consider the New Town - right by the site where the Balmoral Hotel now stands - a gruesome murder took place.
Robert Irvine was a tutor to two young boys, John and Alexander Gordons. They were the sons of James Gordons, a wealthy merchant, and were both around 10 years old. Although above a regular servant, tutors - much like governesses, as in Jane Eyre - weren’t considered on equal footing with members of the family.
This liminal role often made it difficult to carve out a relationship with the rest of the household staff - although it seems that Irvine didn’t have this problem.
