Another Edinburgh World Heritage conservation scheme is now underway at the corner block of 63 & 65 Frederick Street and 38 Queen Street. Work will consist of stonework repairs to chimneys and the front elevation,
During the 1860s No. 38 Queen Street was the home of George Patton, a senior figure in Edinburgh’s legal establishment who was also the focus of a political scandal.
Patton rose through the ranks of the legal profession to become Lord Advocate in 1866, but in the same year he was also elected MP for Bridgewater in Somerset. Allegations of bribery at his election led to calls for an inquest, and faced with mounting pressure he committed suicide. At the time the scandal was described as, “unparalleled in the history of the Scottish judicial bench.” They hadn’t heard of espenses then….
