Boyd’s Entry   Boyd’s Inn  

Boyd’s Entry is where the first passenger coaches arrived from London. This is where the stables and buildings to house the coaches stood at the foot of Gullan’s Close next to the White Horse Inn (previously Boyd’s Inn), at the head of the Canongate. The Flodden wall once stood on the west side of the Street prior to the present housing. There was gates at both ends of the St Mary’s Wynd, at the Cowgate and Pleasance and the Nether Bow Gate which were the only ways into Edinburgh,

 The White Horse Inn

The White Horse Inn is the oldest Inn in the Canongate Edinburgh with the stables at the rear with entry from Gullan’s Close. The coaches left from what was known as Boyd’s Inn. The other entrance for the coaches and horses was from Boyd’s Entry a short distance down St Mary’s Wynd, Boyd’s Inn, was the starting point the long journey by coach to London. The main dropping off point for the coaches from London was Boyd’s Close off Boyd’s Entry, at the back of the White Horse Inn.

The White Horse Inn was the place that runaway couples from England came to be married and many weddings were carried out here. Boyd’s Inn consisted of a house for entertainment, stables for over 100 horses and sheds for over 20 carriages and rooms for the guests. This was the first 5 star lodging in Edinburgh the proprietor being James Boyd. James Boyd sold the White Horse Inn in 1776 to retire.