The Edinburgh Royal High School riot took place on the 15th of September, 1595.
Even in a day when students regularly carried guns to school and often staged rebellions against school authorities, the case was a cause celebre, which was reported to James VI. While other city crimes, such as those of Burke and Hare, have become part of folklore, the murder of Bailie John Macmoran has largely been forgotten.
Nowe there are a few versions of the story, but they all have the same outcome.
Bailie Macmoran, a local Baillie and Magistrate was summoned after the pupils, all the children of wealthy businessmen or politicians, had started a “barring-out” - a rebellion in which they took over the school, and a bizarre ritual in the school, which usually passed without much to write home about.
The trouble had flared following the appointment of a new teacher, Hercules Rollock, who was unable to keep order in the class. As a result of the amount of study time missed by students, the school board had threatened to cut their week-long autumn holiday - which caused outrage.
The pupils proceeded to lock themselves in the school with food and weapons to make their protest.As a magistrate, Macmoran was called to help deal with the situation, but when he and several other men approached the doors to the school with a battering ram one of the pupils shouted down a warning that he would be shot. He ignored the warning, and seconds later was killed after being shot twice in the head by one of the students, William Sinclair.
Seven boys were put in the Tolbooth for the crime, but as they were all the sons of important gentlemen - Sinclair, later Sir William Sinclair of Mey, was the grandson of the Earl of Caithness they ultimately escape punishment.
The pic shows the High School as it was back in 1578 not long after the event, now swept away.
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