Our caches Kidnapped and Robert Louis Stevenson's Edinburgh were inspired by the 2007 UNESCO City of Literature's reading campaign promoting RLS's book. In 2008 the campaign focuses on 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Free books were made available in Edinburgh public libraries on February 22nd 2008, and there was a series of events around the city to coincide with the campaign. Further information can be found here.
Although set in murky 19th century London, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde is based on an infamous Edinburgh character, Deacon Brodie. The clues take you to places associated with his colourful life. William Brodie (1741–1788), more commonly known by his prestigious title of Deacon Brodie, was a highly respected and respectable cabinet-maker. But he had another, secret life. By day, Brodie was a respectable businessman, member of the burgh council and deacon (or president) of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons. He socialised with the gentry of Edinburgh, meeting poet Robert Burns and the painter Sir Henry Raeburn. By night, however, Brodie was a burglar and thief. As the foremost wright (pronounced "wiricht" at that time) of the city, Brodie was asked to work in the homes of many of the richest members of Edinburgh society, fitting and repairing locks. Brodie would copy keys using wax impressions and break into the places where he had worked. He needed the proceeds of crime to maintain his second life. As well as a wife, Brodie had two mistresses and five children. Neither wife nor either of the mistresses was aware of the other women in his life. He also had a serious gambling habit.
Brodie began his criminal career around 1768 when he copied keys to a bank door and stole £800. In 1786 he recruited a gang of three thieves, Brown, Smith and Ainslie to carry out an armed raid on an Excise office in Chessel's Court on the Canongate. The raid was badly bungled; Brodie even fell asleep in the Excise office while the raid was in progress (presumably the worse for drink). Despite his slumber, Brodie escaped but Ainslie was captured, turned King's evidence and informed on the rest of the gang. Brodie had gone to the Netherlands intending to flee to the United States but was arrested in Amsterdam and shipped back to Edinburgh for trial.
The trial started August 27, 1788. The case against against Brodie was complete when the tools of his criminal trade were found in his house: copied keys, a disguise and pistols. The jury found Brodie and his henchman George Smith, a grocer, guilty and they were hanged at the Tolbooth in October. It is said that the gallows on which they hanged was an "improved model" designed by Brodie himself the year before. Ingenious to the end, Brodie wore a steel collar and had a silver tube inserted in his throat to prevent the hanging from being fatal. He had bribed the hangman to arrange for his body to be removed quickly so that he could be revived. Brodie's last "cunning plan" failed and he was buried in an unmarked grave at the Parish Church in Buccleuch.
Brodie's Close
Start coordinates. William Brodie was born here on September 28th 1741. Deacon's House cafe is down the close.
Just inside the close is a sign on the wall for the 'Celtic Lodge E & L (Edinburgh & Leith)' showing a 3 digit number for the lodge XYZ. A = Y-2X. There is also a small oval street number plate nearby. The number is 3B4.
Deacon Brodie's Tavern
N55 56.972 W003 11.587
There is a description of Deacon Brodie's life on a large coloured information panel on the East wall of the pub. Make sure you use the right panel, as there is more than one. There are C lines in the last paragraph. Deacon Brodie was executed on October D 1788.
The Tolbooth Jail
N55 56.976 W003 11.493
The rectangular brass markers in the cobbles mark the site of the Tolbooth jail where Brodie was hanged. The 400 year old building was demolished in 1817, having served as a place for collecting tolls, a council chamber, a court house and squalid prison. Prisoners were executed by hanging from the gallows on the cobbled markers of the Heart of Midlothian.
There is a cluster of four rectangular brass markers next to the Heart of Midlothian, and 3 of them bear dates. The first is 16E0 and the third is 1F30.
Chessel's Court
N55 57.024 W003 10.960
The coordinates take you to a green in the middle of the Court where the bungled raid on the Excise Office ended Brodie's criminal career. How many windows are on the frontage (excluding dormers) of the red building No2 = 1G?
The Cache
The cache can be found at
N55 57.UVW W003 10.XYZ
where:
U = D-E
V = G
W = A-F
X = C
Y = B
Z = F
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.