Aberdeen - Mercat Cross

Must-see attractions nearby: St Machar's Cathedral St Nicholas Church Art Gallery Provost Skene's House King's College Old Town Port

Only a few yards away stood the town residence of the Earl Marischal from whose window in 1562 Mary Stuart is said to have watched the execution of her cousin and admirer Sir John Gordon of Findlater. He had threatened Mary with a forced marriage but later found himself a victim of the "Aberdeen Maiden", a Scottish variation of the guillotine.