Fell from a window

Post by **Pandabean** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:11 pm

I am wondering if the following event would likely occur in a local newspaper and if anyone can elaborate why someone would fall from a window? Is it likely she was pushed or even jumped?

The person is:
Elizabeth Johnston, Ms Taylor. She is the widow of John Johnstone (Coal Merchant). She died May 21st 1879 at 1.15am. Place of residence: 6 St James Place, Edinburgh.
Cause of Death Column:
Fall from window on the 15th. Apoplexy (3 days)

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:54 pm

I can recall as a child, we lived on the 3rd floor, my mother would sit on outside of the windowledge, and pull the window down onto her legs, and without another care, busily clean the windows on the outside.

Yes, I can imagine how it would happen that someone could accidently fall.

Kathy

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 1:53 pm

There's a classic story, - apochryphal, wha kens?, - of a couple on the 20th floor of a Glasgow multi-story getting into a fight.

At one point the woman gives her man a great big shove, and propels him in the direction of the window, which he hit with great force, sufficient to overcome the mechanism that should have prevented the window opening more than a few inches; but it did and he tumbled out and fell from the 20th floor .......

The wifie rushes down to her Mammie, who had a flat (apartment) two floors below, .....

"Haw Mamie, Ah pushed Jimmie 'n' he fell oot ra windie. Whit should Ah dae?".

"Nae borra, hen. Here's a chamois*, - tak it doon 'n' pit in his haun!"

*chamois = chamois leather, for window cleaning, in Glasgow pronounced "shammy".

David

Post by **emanday** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 2:57 pm

My mother used to live in a multi-story in Glasgow. She saw a neighbour in the building opposite sitting outside the window, cleaning the outside, just as she would have done in her old tenement flat!

Unfortunately, there was no safety mechanism at that point and the window swung and down she went. Safety "stops" were added later, but when asked why they hadn't been fitted in the first place, Glasgow corporation explained that they hadn't thought anyone would be silly enough to do that so high up!

Post by **Pandabean** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:33 pm

Ahhh now I see how easy it can be. How high are the buildings in St James Place?

I like that old story David.

I wonder if it did actually happen.

Post by **AndrewP** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:55 pm

Pandabean wrote:Ahhh now I see how easy it can be. How high are the buildings in St James Place?

No height now, they were flattenned, probably at the end of the 1960s to make way for St James Centre (a couple of hundred yards behind NRH and NAS). The old maps give little indication of the house type there, but I would hazard a guess that they were the standard Edinburgh tenement, ground floor, plus three above. According to the town plans on the NLS site, there were few houses in St James Place. There was however a public house. Had she been in there for a few drinks? (you can only guess, unless the death certificate mentions anything about being drunk).

I hope she wasn't washing the windows just after 1am.

All the best,

AndrewP

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 4:11 pm

Pandabean wrote:Ahhh now I see how easy it can be. How high are the buildings in St James Place?

I like that old story David. I wonder if it did actually happen.

Wha kens?, but I can well imagine that it did

David

Post by **Pandabean** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:59 pm

Andrew,

That wouldnt be where St James Bus Station is or am I too central?

It seems that she died at 1am on the 21st but the fall from the window was on the 15th. Would she have been in hospital or cared for at home?

Post by **paddyscar** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:10 pm

Hi Andy:

Old American movies always show people sitting on the windowsills and fire escapes when it was warm, so maybe she was seeking a cooling breeze.

She could have had some head injury, with a slow bleed into the brain, based on the fall being on the 15th and that she had apoplexy for 3 days prior to her death.

Frances

Post by **AndrewP** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:29 pm

Pandabean wrote:That wouldnt be where St James Bus Station is or am I too central?

If you walk eastwards out of the bus station, St James Place is the street that continues eastwards, giving access to St James Centre car park. That east-west section of the road was originally Swinton Row, but I think only named St James Place since the St James Centre was built (end of the 1960s or the beginning of the 1970s). As this road curves round the back of St James Centre to be nearer to north-south in direction, that is the original St James Place.

See a recent aerial view of the street at:

http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &alt=-1000

The east-west section is lost in the shadow of the multi-storey car park. The only old building left in the north-south-ish (original) section of the street is the one that is shown on the old maps as the U.P. Church (over the back wall of St Marys RC Cathedral). None of the old houses of St James Place remain.

The bus station is leading off the left side of that view. That view must be a few years old. It shows the old bus station with the overhead insurance office. A more up to date aerial view is to be seen on Google Earth, which updated its Edinburgh area views a few months back. The new bus station is shown there on almost the same site with the Harvey Nicks and other new buildings to the south.

(Scroll a short distance to the south and you will see NRH and NAS, both distinguished by their domes).

All the best,

AndrewP