Historian John Hay will illustrate several salient episodes relating to deaf people which have occurred around the Royal Mile through many centuries. Stories include that of Lady Joan Stewart, the Deaf daughter of James I of Scotland; Braidwood’s Academy in Dumbiedykes Road; Chessels Court, the location of the Edinburgh Deaf and Dumb Institution in the early 19th century; Moray House College of Education, the birthplace of British Sign Language.

This BSL lecture will also be translated into English by an accompanying interpreter.