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Visitor Information: Jenny Ha's |
According to the sign outside, Jenny Ha's was founded in 1749. It doesn't take a degree in architectural history to realise that the building it occupies the ground floor of today doesn't date back quite so far. In fact it has occupied its current premises only since 1960.
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What you find inside is a cavernous bar well placed to take advantage of the increase in passing trade along these lower reaches of the Royal Mile. With its dark wood panelling and tasteful decoration the interior feel considerably older (and more attractive) than the exterior.
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Two plaques on the outside wall of Jenny Ha's record the significance of the site on which it now stands. The world's first ever "international" golf match took place in 1681 on Leith Links to settle an argument. Two English nobles played on one side. The Scottish team comprised the Duke of York, the future James VII, and a common cobbler called John Paterson.
The English were unaware of it, but Paterson was already regarded as a champion golfer and with his involvement the outcome was never really in any doubt. Paterson was generously rewarded by the Duke of York, and he purchased a tenement on Canongate that he called Golfer's Land. It was this that was demolished in 1960 to make way for the inelegant building in which Jenny Ha's now resides.
The pub always has a real ale available, plus a selection of malt whiskies. Food is described as "traditional Scottish". The clientele is a mix of locals and tourists drawn down the Royal Mile by the combination of the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace and Dynamic Earth.
 The Interior of Jenny Ha's |
