The Speaking House is so called because of the 16th century latin inscriptions on the front wall of the house (extra)   There are five of which four date from then and the fifth inserted when the house was restored in 1932.
The house is actually called Huntly House and was built in 1570 when three small houses were merged . Since 1647 the property belonged to the Incorporation of Hammermen in the Canongate, though it was traditionally wrongly identified as belonging to the Marquis of Huntly who only stayed there briefly in 1636.  By the 19th century the rooms were so sub-divided that 323 tenants lived there in 1851 including a duchess, a merchant , a cowfeeder and a washerwoman  When it was threatened with demolition in 1924 it was purchased by the town and turned into a museum.

The inscription translates as 
Today for me, tomorrow for you, why worry. 1570
The extra inscription can be translated as
To the constant heart the affairs of mortals are but a shade


Thank you BobsBlip for hosting this week’s WidWed challenge of Stones