At this place on the night of September 7th 1736 Cpt. Jock Porteous of the Edinburgh City Guard was brutally lynched from a dyers pole by an Edinburgh Mob.

or...in a riot at the execution of a smuggler, Capt. Porteous told soldiers to open fire, causing 6 deaths. Convicted of murder, his execution was delayed for political reasons, & a crowd took matters into their own hands.