John Traill
John Traill | |
|---|---|
 John Traill, 1895 | |
| Born | January 11, 1835 Dunfermline, Scotland |
| Died | June 8, 1897 (aged 62) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Resting place | Newington Cemetery |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Traill |
| Children | 2 |
John Traill (11 January 1835 – 8 June 1897) was the owner of Traill's Temperance Coffee House which was regularly visited by Greyfriars Bobby.
Early and personal life[]
Traill was born in 1835 in Dunfermline and was the son of a weaver. He and his wife Mary had two children called Alexander and Elizabeth Ann.[1]
Greyfriars Bobby[]
The story goes that in 1858, Greyfriars Bobby and his owner John Gray ate at Traill's Temperance Coffee House.[2] John Gray who was ill is found dead the next day. Bobby stays at his master's graveside and at the one o’clock gun he goes back to Traill's coffee house to get a meal. The dog does this for 14 years.[3] Traill was cited by the police for failure to license Bobby, but he argued he did not need a license for the dog as he was not his owner.[4]
In Forbes Macgregor's book Greyfriars Bobby: The Real Story at Last he points out some inaccuracies about the story.[5] Including that John Traill didn’t own the coffee house until four years after John Gray died and that the one o’clock gun tradition didn’t begin until 1861.[3]
John Traill's grandson John Traill Leitch in response to claims the story of Greyfriars Bobby was a hoax said "as it seems quite a common thing for popular authors to pose as authorities on subjects of which they know very little".[6]
Traill's Temperance Coffee House[]
Traill's Temperance Coffee House was a temperance coffee house located on the ground floor of 6 Greyfriars Place. In 1975, 4, 5 and 6 Greyfriars Place were B listed by Historic Environment Scotland.[7] In modern times, Greyfriars Bobby's Bar and Greyfriars Bobby Fountain are located in Greyfriars Place.
Later years and death[]
In 1895, Oliver Morris painted a picture of Traill which has been on display at the City Art Centre since 1962.[8] Traill died in 1897 and is buried at Newington Cemetery in Edinburgh.[4]
In popular culture[]
- John Traill is featured in the 1912 novel Greyfriars Bobby. Traill is depicted as the landlord of Ye Olde Greyfriars Dining-Rooms and is commonly referred to as Mr. Traill.[9]
- Traill is played by Edmund Gwenn in the 1949 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Challenge to Lassie based on the novel.
- Traill is played by Laurence Naismith in the 1961 Disney film Greyfriars Bobby based on the novel.[10]
References[]
- ^ "John Traill, Master of Greyfriars Bobby". Geni. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Who was GreyFriar's Bobby?". Simplyfixit. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Greyfriars Bobby – separating facts from fiction". Must See Scotland. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ a b "John Traill". FindAGrave. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Macgregor, Forbes "Greyfriars Bobby: The Real Story at Last" Steve Savage Publishers Limited, 2nd Revised edition, (2002), ISBN 978-1904246008
- ^ Jan Bondeson, Greyfriars Bobby: The Most Faithful Dog in the World, Amberley Publishing, 2011, (Page 52) ISBN 978-1445607627
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "4, 5 AND 6 GREYFRIARS PLACE (LB18973)". Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "John Traill (1835–1897), Master of Greyfriars Bobby Oliver Morris (active 1866–1895) City Art Centre". ArtUK. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Atkinson, Eleanor. "Greyfriar's Bobby Text". The Project Gutenberg EBook of Greyfriars Bobby, by Eleanor Atkinson. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Greyfriars Bobby The True Story of a Dog (1961)". BFI.
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- 1835 births
- 1897 deaths
- Greyfriars Bobby
- People from Dunfermline
- Scottish temperance activists
- Scottish business biography stubs