User:Peaky76/Cant's Ordinary

Cant's Ordinary (also known as the Cant Ordinary) was a tavern on Kirkgate, Leith, next to Trinity House of Leith.

It was a "quaint old building" raised on pillared arches at the head of Combe’s Close.

In the 1570s it was kept by William Cant. The Cants had been in Leith, mostly sailormen, for many generations.

The core of the building dated to the 12th century, while the upper part dated from the 16th or 17th century. Had it survived, it would have been one of the oldest pubs in Europe. It was demolished in 1883. In its time ministers of South Leith stayed there, and during the time of the regents meetings took place here that effected the future of Scotland, in the later 17th/18th century duels took place here.

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, it was visited by, among others, Mary, Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell and Charles II.

Following the building's demolition, a plaque was erected on its Victorian replacement, a building occupied by Kinnaird’s Restaurant. The ceiling of this building was a copy of the decorated plaster ceiling in the Queen Mary room of Cant's Ordinary. The outline of Cant's Ordinary was carved in stonework on an ornamental panel in front of the new building. When that too was demolished, the plaque was moved to the frontage of one of the nearby 1960s houses.