Alison Rough (c. 1480 — 3 September 1535) was one of Edinburgh’s most formidable businesswomen, and ultimately, one of its most notorious killers. Her story spans widowhood, financial ambition and a bloody family dispute that ended on the banks of Nor Loch.
A Widow Who Built an Empire
Alison Rough married Jasper Mayne, a notary and burgess, before 1507. Together, they built a substantial property portfolio in Edinburgh’s Old Town. From 1508, Mayne gradually transferred ownership of properties and rents into their joint names. By 1512, some holdings were assigned to Alison alone. That same year, King James IV gifted the couple a property in the city.
When Mayne was killed at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513, Alison was left a widow with four young children: Katherine, Isobel, John and Adam. Although she could not write, she was well-versed in her legal rights. Within three years of her husband’s death, she had established herself as a successful independent businesswoman. From 1517, she traded from a stall in Anchor’s Close on Edinburgh High Street, selling cloth, millinery and general attire.
She also had a brief second marriage to a man named Thomas Louranstoun. Church records show that a divorce was granted sometime between 1516 and 1520, though no further details survive. Around the same time, a court entry records Alison successfully suing another widow for defamation; academic Elizabeth Ewan suggests this may be connected to the divorce.
A Shrewd and Litigious Operator
As her children reached adulthood, Alison made careful provision for each of them. In 1528, her son Adam became a priest. Consequently, two properties held in his name were transferred back to Alison in exchange for a life pension. That same year, she arranged a lucrative marriage for her son John to an affluent property-owning widow.
For her daughter Katherine, she negotiated a match with Alexander Cant, a prosperous Edinburgh merchant who had been widowed twice. Cant was considerably older than Katherine, but he owned several properties. To secure the arrangement, Alison promised a dowry of 400 merks in cash, her merchant stall and two properties formerly held by Adam. Prior to the marriage, both women had lived together in a property at Peebles Wynd, which was also included in the dowry. After Katherine’s wedding, mother and daughter moved into Cant’s large townhouse in what was then known as Alexander Cant’s Close, later renamed Craig’s Close.
Although largely retired from active trading, Alison continued to use the courts to protect her assets. She was not someone who surrendered an asset without a fight.
The Dispute That Turned Deadly
The relationship between Alison and her son-in-law was, from the outset, strained. Cant had not received the full promised dowry. In March 1535, he sued both Alison and Katherine for failing to pay. Tensions escalated further over the Peebles Wynd property. Alison had sold it, but the buyer subsequently took all parties to court, claiming the property was legally his.
On 30 August 1535, the central court found in the buyer’s favour. Both Alison and Cant returned home that evening, each furious. A bitter argument erupted in the household that night. According to contemporary accounts, Katherine beat her husband to death, reportedly with a pair of fire tongs, while Alison and a female servant were also involved in the attack.
Alexander Cant was murdered in his own home.
Trial, Execution and Legacy
Both Alison and Katherine were arrested. Remarkably, both managed to escape from custody before being swiftly recaptured. They were convicted and sentenced to death.
Katherine gained a temporary stay of execution by claiming to be pregnant. This was a recognised legal mechanism that halted a sentence pending the birth of a child. Alison had no such recourse. On 3 September 1535, she was executed by drowning in Nor Loch, the body of water that now lies beneath Princes Street Gardens.
Drowning is frequently cited in popular accounts as a method of executing those convicted of witchcraft. However, research by modern specialists in Scottish witchcraft, including Julian Goodare, indicates it was rarely used in Scotland for that purpose. Alison was executed for murder, not witchcraft.
After her death, a six-year legal dispute broke out between King James V and Edinburgh Town Council over her confiscated property. A statute passed on 28 May 1542 finally resolved the matter. It clarified that town councils were entitled to the forfeited goods of murderers convicted within their jurisdiction. However, if the perpetrator had escaped custody and was deemed an outlaw, the estate fell to the Crown. Because Alison had briefly escaped, her properties remained with the Crown.
Katherine, meanwhile, avoided justice entirely. She fled first to England and then to Germany, never returning to face her sentence.
Alison Rough wielded every legal tool available to her, built a business empire from the wreckage of widowhood, and died violently over a family dispute rooted in money.
Sources: Elizabeth Ewan, Women’s History Magazine (2003); Elizabeth Ewan, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2020); Julian Goodare in The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (2013); Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh (1871).
