Old Edinburgh Worthies 6: Swing Charlie, Cramond Willie, Caunle Doup and Burn the Bible

SWING CHARLIE

Swing Charlie, called by some Charlie Napier, was a blind street musician active in Victorian times.​ ​He sang and played an English concertina, performing quite creditably and remaining one of the best​ ​known Edinburgh street characters for many years.

A short, spare man, he was often harassed by the​ ​mischievous street boys, who sneaked up behind him and shouted ​"​Boo​!​" during his​ ​performances.Charlie had a thick, heavy stick hanging from his coat button, and when he could stand the​ ​molestation no longer, he made this weapon ready for use. ​"​Swing, Charlie! Swing!"​, shouted the​ ​delighted street urchins as the exasperated Charlie swung his stick hard at them.

‘We boys respected​ ​that stick when we made him angry​,​’ wrote the chronicler AJ Baillie many years later.

CRAMOND WILLIE

Cramond Willie as his nickname suggests, was a native of Cramond. His real name was William​ ​Henderson​. T​he 1851 Census tells us that Willie was 30 years old at the time, living at One House​ ​Buildings in Cramond Village with his father John and his mother Alison, who were both in their fifties. He also had three younger sisters named Margaret, Eliza and Sarah.

Able-bodied but ​"​of weak​ ​intellect"​, Willie found paid employment carrying letters and messages between Cramond and​ ​Edinburgh, in a large arm-basket. He was described as a tall man, always well dressed and​ ​respectable, and quiet and courteous in manner, but not ​"​all there​"​ with regard to his mental​ ​acuity.

When the street boys asked him​, "​What’s the time, Willie?​"​, he gazed up in the sky, lacking a​ ​proper watch, and estimated the hour fairly correctly.

Unlike Swing Charlie and Walking Dick, who​ ​were constantly at loggerheads with the mischievous street urchins of Edinburgh, Willie was quite popular and seldom molested.

The 1861 Census finds Willie at 1 Shore Street, Cramond Village,​ ​described as a parcel carrier and messenger and living with his father John and sister Margaret. In​ ​1871, the Hendersons were at 6 Shore Street, with the 79-year-old John, described as a former general​ ​labourer and a pauper, still hale and hearty.

In November 1878, ​T​he Scotsman could announce the​ death of Cramond Willie​.​ The cause of death was a stroke of paralysis at the age of just 57, leading to hemiplegia from which​ ​Willie had expired on November 24 1878.

His headstone still stands, with the inscription​, '​Erected by​ ​the Parishioners of Cramond and other friends in memory of Cramond Willie (William Henderson)​ ​who was for many years a faithful messenger between Cramond and Edinburgh. In character and​ ​conduct he was an honest and upright man.”

CANULE DOUP

​The real name of Caunle Doup cannot be discerned, but he was an Edinburgh worthy in his time,​ ​active in the candle trade and often carrying a large basket of candles.

He was almost as broad as he​ ​was tall, with an abnormally large head, and short arms and legs. This figure was much​ ​teased by the street boys.

WILLIE O’ THE MOUND

Willie o’ the Mound, whose effigy was immortalised in WJ​ ​Hay’s Knox Series of postcards, appears to have been a street beggar of some description.

BURN THE BIBLEBurn the Bible was also known as Cripple Kirsty or Kirsty Veitch; the latter may well have been​ ​her true name, although this cannot be verified.

Described as a short, toothless crone of sinister​ ​aspect, she was constantly at loggerheads with the street boys, who shouted​, "​Burn the Bible!​"​ to make​ ​her furious. It was well known among the street urchins of Edinburgh that Kirsty had once burnt the​ ​Bible, for whatever reason, and that this act of sacrilege had made her ‘go daft in the heid’.

​Poet ​Donald​ ​Campbell was inspired by her sinister reputation:When the gloaming light is spentYe’ll maybe see auld Kirsty rideAbove the towering tenementWhere all the ghosts and gremlins bide …Other female Edinburgh worthies of the time were the Newhaven fishwives Maggie Flucker and​ ​Oyster Nell, and the Bible Land lodging-house keeper Black Mary, who was known for her short​ ​temper and great bodily strength.

Jan Bondeson is author of Phillimore's Edinburgh, published by Amberley Books and Murder Houses of Edinburgh

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