My post is based on an article from Scotland Vacations.com and also information from The Scottish Story Telling Centre in Edinburgh.
John Knox House Opening times (As at November 2011) Monday- Saturday 10am-6pm The House is open on Sundays from 12pm -6pm in July and August Admission prices (As at November 2011) Adult - £4.25 Concession - £3.75 Children over 7 - £1.00 Children under 7 - Free.
For storytelling tours of John Knox House (20+), please contact Moira Hay in advance at moira@scottishstorytellingcentre.com or on+44 (0)131 556 9579.
Dating back to 1470, and now incorporated into the Scottish Storytelling Centre, John Knox House is one of Scotland's greatest cultural treasures and is associated with the most dramatic events in Scotland's turbulent history.
Located in The Netherbow, the halfway point in the Royal Mile and the site of Edinburgh's medieval gateway, the House was the home of James Mosman, goldsmith to Mary Queen of Scots, and became known as the final residence of John Knox, the Protestant reformer. On three floors, the exhibition highlights the building's beautiful craftsmanship and the stories of its famous inhabitants. Come close to the most dramatic conflicts in Scotland's history. Stand where they stood and hear the drama in their own words.
The original Netherbow bell, cast in 1621, and a carved stone plaque from the Port (or Gate) have been reinstated in the Storytelling Centre's bell tower.
The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland ordained John Knox (1505-1572) as a priest. Knox's close friend George Wiseheart was burned at the stake by Cardinal Beaton, Knox swore himself an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church, two years later, Beaton was assassinated by "parties unknown."
After arriving in Edinburgh Knox soon had a growing group of followers. He traveled to Geneva three times to study under Calvin who had a high regard for the young Scotsman. Knox bore a terrible hatred toward Mary Queen of Scots' mother, Mary of Guise, and yet they met and in the meeting Mary tried converting Knox back to Roman Catholicism with bribes of political power.
On 26 March 1564 Knox stirred controversy again, but this time not of a religious nature..........
He married the daughter of an old friend, Andrew Stewart, a member of the Stuart family and a distant relation to the queen, Mary Stuart.
The marriage was extraordinary because he was a widower of fifty, while the bride, Margaret, was not yet seventeen., very few details are known of their domestic life but they had three daughters, Martha, Margaret, and Elizabeth.
In response to Knox's prayers, Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have said: "I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe." In response to the rising resistance of the Scottish Reformers, Mary fled Scotland and was later put to death by a court of English who had accused her of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I. Knox was survived by the Scottish Covenanters, who drew up a compact in 1638 asserting their right, under God, to national sovereignity.
Edited by Chippy for DirectDoors.com
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