John Traill

For other people named John Traill, see John Traill (disambiguation).

"Mr. Traill" redirects here. For other people with the surname Traill, see Traill (surname).

John Traill
John Traill, 1895
Born	(1835-01-11)January 11, 1835 Dunfermline, Scotland
Died	June 8, 1897(1897-06-08) (aged 62) Edinburgh, Scotland
Resting place	Newington Cemetery
Spouse	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.

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.[1] 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.[2] Traill died in 1897 and is buried at Newington Cemetery in Edinburgh.

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.[3]
• 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.[4]

References

1. Historic Environment Scotland. "4, 5 AND 6 GREYFRIARS PLACE (LB18973)". Retrieved 29 July 2021.
2. "John Traill (1835–1897), Master of Greyfriars Bobby Oliver Morris (active 1866–1895) City Art Centre". ArtUK. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
3. Atkinson, Eleanor. "Greyfriar's Bobby Text". The Project Gutenberg EBook of Greyfriars Bobby, by Eleanor Atkinson. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
4. "Greyfriars Bobby The True Story of a Dog (1961)". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017.