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HEAVE AWA HOOSE
In 1861 the 17th Century building that stood here suddenly collapsed, killing 35 people. A young boy, Joseph McIvor was the only survivor. His rescuers heard him shout from the rubble.
"Heave Awa Lads I'm no deid yet".
In
honour of Joseph's miraculous escape, the building that replaced it was
called 'The Heave Awa Hoose'. and an ornate lintel with a carving of Joseph
McIvor's head acts as a reminder of the event.
underneath it read's 'Heave Awa Chaps, I'm No Died Yet!' (The
'Lads' was substituted for 'Chaps' so Victorian tourists from London could
understand it.)
By
the middle of the 1800's the old town houses were at least 300 years old
and crumbling. The collapse of the building prompted a public outcry and
an enquiry into the appalling living conditions in the old town.
The rich
had long since moved out to the wide streets and open space of the New
Town and there was quite simply no investment in the old tenements.
