The Jinglin' Geordie – George, meet George
Train beers, pt. 4.
I – A footballer walks into a bar
Even George Best thought he should have a night in.
The gaffer had practically dragged him out of a London nightclub and back up to Edinburgh. He had strict orders to stay in his room and get a good night’s sleep. Hibs had a Scottish Cup match the next day. They were enduring a horrible season in the league and could do with a decent cup run. He might not be the player he was, but was still capable of producing moments of magic for the team. Plus, if he didn't play, he didn’t get paid.
A combination of three factors meant he never made it to the match. The first was that he was George Best. He barely functioned without alcohol any more. The second was that he stayed at the North British Hotel on Princes Street, home to one of the most lavish bars in Edinburgh. The third was a French rugby player.
Jean-Pierre Rives needed a drink. He’d just captained France to a disappointing defeat at Murrayfield and team morale was low. But as led his squad into the lobby of the North British Hotel, he spotted a superstar. He decided he would invite George Best for a drink.
It’s not known how much persuading Best took to join the French rugby team at the bar. Probably none, in all likelihood. But the night became the stuff of legend, where many details are understandably hazy. What we do know is this: By 10am the next morning, the session was still going. At some point Debbie Harry turned up and joined them. And when the Hibs team bus came by to pick Best up, he could only utter three words: “I’m so pissed.”
Best was sacked shortly afterwards.
II – The Queen’s jeweller
George Heriot spotted an opportunity.
He had followed his father into the jewellery trade and become a skilled goldsmith. So skilled, that he was soon selling his wares to the Queen of Scotland. Before long, the King was a customer too. The rest of the nobility followed – because who wouldn’t want to buy from the royal family’s jeweller?
Queen Anne’s spending was compulsive, and presented a problem for her husband. But he wanted to keep her happy, and so began buying the jewels on credit. This was no problem for Heriot – it was his opportunity to become richer than he ever imagined. He charged significant interest to the King. By his mid-forties, Heriot was so wealthy he was lending money to the King and Queen.
Heriot’s fortune only grew when King James VI gained a new title in 1603: King James I of England. Heriot set up shop in London and continued to amass his fortune in the Royal Court. He cut a deal with the indebted King James where he was awarded a share of the levy on imported sugar.
But for all his riches, Heriot’s personal life was filled with tragedy. It’s not known when his first wife, Christian Majoribanks, died. His two sons drowned in 1603, possibly on the journey from Edinburgh to London. In 1612, after three years of marriage, his second wife Alison Primrose died in childbirth. The baby did not survive.
By 1623, his health faltering, George Heriot wrote his will. He had no heirs to pass his enormous wealth to. He requested some of it to go to two young women – thought to be his illegitimate daughters – and some other family and friends. The bulk of it he bequeathed to his hometown. He asked the authorities to put it towards an orphanage for “fatherless boys, freeman’s sons of the town of Edinburgh”.
Heriot did not live to see the hospital built with his fortune, nor the streets and educational institutions which bear his name today. He was not known as a philanthropist during his lifetime.
Instead, he was known to fellow courtiers by his nickname, given to him because of the riches he carried around in his pockets: Jingling Geordie.
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III – Fleshmarket Close
All this is a longwinded way of saying this: I really like the Jinglin’ Geordie pub.
The pub is just by Waverley Station, on Fleshmarket Close, where George Heriot lived with his first wife Christian Majoribanks. It’s also staggering distance from the Balmoral Hotel – formerly the North British Hotel. It was a favourite haunt of George Best’s during the year he played for Hibs.
You enter via the narrow steps of Fleshmarket Close and are confronted by the bar in front of you. The whole pub is one small room, really, with a few tales around a telly on one side, and some perching/standing areas on the other. It’s got a relaxed vibe, and doesn’t try to do too much. The cask ale is usually up to scratch, which is a blessing in this part of tourist town. And the pub has more character than most of its neighbours.
Finally, some anniversaries. George Heriot died in 1624 at the age of 60. Last year, George Heriot’s School marked 400 years since his death. Of course, it’s now a prestigious and expensive private school. It still provides funding for a small number of places for children who have lost a parent.
George Best’s famous bender with Blondie and the French rugby men happened 45 years ago this Sunday, on 16 February 1980. Hibs sacked Best as a result, then changed their mind and brought him back to the club a week later. He went on to make a handful more appearances as Hibs were relegated that season.
Where is it?
Where next?
Next door is an even smaller pub, The Halfway House. Worth popping in, if there’s space. Otherwise, head over North Bridge to The Guildford Arms.
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As a former pupil at Heriot's, I have to admit never having stepped inside the Jinglin' Geordie, even when it was an overflow bar for The Scotsman newspaper.
Top writing! Thoroughly enjoyed.