Lumsden, a design firm specialising in retail and F&B for visitor attractions, has revealed details of a new retail experience that it has developed for The Real Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh.
This project has transformed the attraction’s listed Burgh Courtroom, which can be found in the City Chambers on the Royal Mile. Lumsden designed this retail space to link the subterranean Real Mary King’s Close tour, which was named one of the top ten visitor attractions in the UK by TripAdvisor’s 2023 Travellers’ Choice. The redesigned shop opened to visitors in late 2023.
Honouring history
The design concept was inspired by the city’s Luckenbooths. These 17th-century market stalls were the first permanent shops in Edinburgh.
Lumsden created market carts on wheels that resemble the Luckenbooths and reflect the history of the space through the shop’s design aesthetic. These flexible displays, combined with other bespoke mobile fixtures, enable the shop to be easily reconfigured as needed.
Sophisticated shop fittings line the outer walls. They mirror the symmetry and proportions of the architecture and the original wood panelling, in a design which honours the room’s listed classification. The fixtures are differentiated from the historical finishes by a dark wood finish, with a modern design with rounded corners and low-level storage which is reminiscent of antique apothecary cabinets.
Plug-and-play LED lighting is integrated into the custom shelf system and enhances both the product displays and the wider space. Four unusual display units have been made of lightweight metal with a gold finish, and feature integrated lighting. These units offer a space to showcase creative visual merchandising in line with the themes and narratives of the experience.
Creative displays
One of the key narratives in The Real Mary King’s tour is the story of the plague doctor. This figure, dressed entirely in black with a beak-like mask which was filled with spices and rose petals, tried to treat those infected with the pneumonic and bubonic plagues during the most devastating outbreaks in Edinburgh in around 1645.
A centrepiece of Lumsden’s 118 square meter shop is a life-size mannequin of the plague doctor, surrounded by light boxes showing a map of historic Edinburgh and an array of curious products.
The firm has also developed a café cart to provide refreshments at the end of the tour. This maintains the market-inspired concept and is accompanied by a comfortable seating area. The café cart features white Durat countertops made of recycled plastic. These countertops have also been used at the cash wrap station, which has a map print graphic backdrop.
The courtroom’s original architectural features are highlighted by the thoughtful redesign. Lumsden has sensitively worked with the space to highlight the room’s stunning historic details, including the wood panelling, elaborate cornices, columns, and ceiling height.
With this redesign, the Burgh Courtroom gift shop now offers an extension of the Real Mary King’s Close tour, enabling visitors to the attraction to discover the room’s history for the first time.
James Dwyer, creative director of Lumsden, comments: “Real Mary King’s Close stands out as one of Scotland’s best-loved visitor attractions. Our collaboration with the team at Real Mary King’s Close and Continuum Attractions gave us the unique opportunity to elevate the visitor experience by seamlessly bridging the atmospheric subterranean journey with the return to ground level and the magnificent 18th-century courtroom.
“Our design weaves storytelling and historic inspiration into the space, celebrating the architectural heritage and creating an inviting environment for visitors to enjoy spending time in. The design seamlessly extends the visitor journey, offering captivating and creative product displays, storytelling opportunities, and curated curiosities directly linked to the unique experience they’ve come to enjoy.”
Paul Nixon, general manager at The Real Mary King’s Close, adds: “We invested in our fantastic Burgh Courtroom to ensure our guests are getting the highest quality visitor experience as possible. We’re proud to show our guests our gift shop transformed to a space that is reminiscent of the time and feeds into the social history of Mary King’s Close itself.”
Lumsden recently announced that it has been chosen to design the interior spaces for a new building at the Natural History Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.
