Misplaced Pages

#951048

103-568: A "Praying Society" had seceded from the West Kirk in 1732 over the Crown's right to impose a minister against the congregation's wishes. The seceders joined the Associate Presbytery in 1738 and constructed their own church at Bristo in 1741 with Adam Gib as its first minister. The church played a prominent role in the history of Scotland's seceding churches. It was the site of "The Breach" between

206-405: A transept at the south, and a tower at the west. From the late 16th century, records of the kirk session make frequent references to repairs and additions to the church. Many of these concern the addition of new lofts to accommodate a growing congregation. In 1593, an extension, known as the "Little Kirk" was added to the west of the church, the steeple was rebuilt, and the church's thatch roof

309-405: A weather vane . The sanctuary consists of a wide nave with a flat, compartmented plaster ceiling. A U-shaped gallery, supported on marbled Corinthian columns, stands against the north, south, and west walls. Round-headed arches on Doric pilasters open into the transepts and chancel . The west gallery was shortened between 1989 and 1990, when Stewart Tod & Partners partitioned off

412-535: A Category A listed building since 1970. Seven of the church's ministers have served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland during their incumbencies, including Robert Pont , who held the role on six occasions between the 1570s and 1590s. The church's present work includes ministries among homeless people and Edinburgh's business community. It is uncertain when the first church of St Cuthbert

515-470: A Christian instruction society to minister around Crosscauseway from a mission building at Cowan's Close. On 8 September 1820, the church was the site of the reunion of the factions of the original secession to form the United Secession Church . By Peddie's 50th anniversary in 1832, the membership of the congregation had been diminished by the establishment of new Secession churches at Dean Street,

618-455: A central gablet , which had a large chimneystack at the apex. At ground level, beneath this gable was a pend , which allowed access to the meeting-house from Bristo Street. By the beginning of the 19th century, the old meeting-house was becoming dilapidated and unsafe. Beginning in September 1802, work began to replace it with a new building on the same site. This opened on 8 July 1804. In 1820,

721-503: A chimney stack. Beneath the pediment are two large windows. On the ground floor is the extension of 1820: an advanced porch including an attic storey and Ionic pillars in antis . Either side of the central bay are bays of two storeys with two windows on each storey. St Cuthbert%27s Church, Edinburgh The Parish Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh . Probably founded in

824-423: A clumsy pulpit with a heavy canopy over it, which might cause one to have some alarm for the safety of the minister". In front of the pulpit was a tall precentor 's desk with a bracket for an hour-glass to time sermons. There were windows in the wall either side of the pulpit. The church building was 90 ft (27 m) long with two rows of windows in the side walls and windows in the back wall. The front door

927-477: A continuous course of ashlar. Every corner of the church is decorated with half- fluted Corinthian pilasters on the upper stage and quoining on the lower. The roof rests at a shallow pitch and is slated . The north and south elevations of the church are near-identical. Round-arched windows pierce the upper level of each of the four western bays . The architraves of these windows are supported by half-fluted Corinthian pilasters. The lower level of each bay

1030-479: A corniced surround, flanked by small windows. The upper level of the transept is pierced by an arcade of three round-arched windows, flanked by half- fluted Corinthian pilasters and supported by Corinthian column mullions . West of the transept on the north side, steps descend to a round-arched doorway in the basement level of the church: this is the Nisbet of Dean burial vault, constructed in 1692 and retained during

1133-466: A crown of glory." St Cuthbert's was involved in the early development of Methodism . In May 1764, John Wesley visited St Cuthbert's for communion ; in his journal, he unfavourably compared the rites to those of the Church of England . Lady Maxwell of Pollok, one of Wesley's leading supporters in Scotland, was also a member of St Cuthbert's. By the middle of the 18th century, the Church of St Cuthbert

SECTION 10

#1733093893952

1236-578: A large area surrounding the burghs of Edinburgh and the Canongate : it bounded Newhaven and Cramond in the north; Corstorphine in the west, Colinton and Liberton in the south; and Duddingston and Restalrig in the east. The parish also contained nunneries at Sciennes and the Pleasance , two chapels on the Burgh Muir and other chapels at Newhaven , Low Calton , and Wester Portsburgh . After

1339-419: A long, round-headed upper window in each bay; in the longitudinal walls, these stood above shorter, segmental-arched lower windows. The roof rested at a shallow pitch. An oculus adorned the space beneath the apex of the east gable . The corners were quoined . Initially, this church possessed a pedimented tower whose base projected from the line of the west gable but whose height extended no further than

1442-753: A member of the congregation. In 1900, the congregation joined the United Free Church at the union of the United Presbyterian and Free churches. In 1929, the union of the United Free Church with the Church of Scotland saw the Bristo congregation rejoin the national church. One effect of this union was to create an extraneous number of parish churches in the Old Town and Southside. The Church of Scotland therefore decided to close Bristo. On 7 November 1937,

1545-408: A new session house and vestry were constructed at the front of the church. Soon after, a programme of repairs strengthened the church's interior. Further works were carried out in 1834, including the replacement of the pulpit and the alteration of the platform and seating. Renovation of the seating took place in 1846 and the windows were replaced in 1864. A further renovation took place in 1872. In 1905,

1648-469: A small central window. The south wall is pierced by a segmental-arched window below an oculus. Above the chapel stands the session room and, above that, the wood-panelled choir room; the latter is accessed by screened cantilevered wooden staircases in upper the west vestibule . While George Hay praised the Georgian steeple as a "charming composition", reception of Blanc 's design has been mixed. As

1751-427: A stairway in the west tower with trap stairs leading into the galleries. The church could seat up to 3,000. By 1888, the church had become unfashionable and unsafe and Hippolyte Blanc was appointed to design a replacement. Blanc first proposed only to recase the building; it was later decided to rebuild the church on a larger scale. The last service was held in the Georgian church on 11 May 1890. The money for

1854-450: A tall house which stood between the meeting-house and Bristo Street. In 1732, the Crown used its right of patronage to install Patrick Wotherspoon (or Wedderspoon) as minister of the West Kirk against the wishes of that congregation and of its other minister Neil McVicar . The proclamation of Wotherspoon as minister sparked a tumult, which was only dispersed when the town guard fired upon

1957-458: A two-manual organ by Forster and Andrews was installed. After James Peddie's death in 1845, the congregation erected a memorial to him, designed by his grandson John Dick Peddie . An illustration in James Thin's history of the congregation shows the church as a neoclassical building with round-headed windows and a façade centred on a pedimented gable containing an oculus and surmounted by

2060-415: A window in a segmental-arched frame. Between the nave and the apse stands one bay with longitudinal round-headed arches under a compartmented barrelled ceiling. The chancel steps are marble with mosaic floors. In 1928, James Inch Morrison embellished the chancel by cladding the pilasters in orange marble with a cornice of Pavonazzo marble . Peter MacGregor Chalmers remodelled the ground floor of

2163-578: Is first mentioned in 1596. In 1612, Samuel West applied to found a grammar school in the West Port ; he was followed by others, who founded schools at the Pleasance , Burghmuirhead , the Dean , and at Kirkbraehead (now Lothian Road ). In 1826, a parish school was constructed in Dean Street and transferred to the parish of St Bernard's in 1852. In 1583, the kirk session introduced beggars' badges for use in

SECTION 20

#1733093893952

2266-405: Is pierced by an oblong window below a corniced architrave. The westernmost bay on each side is slightly advanced and a door, flanked to the west by a small window, stands in place of the lower window. Along the top of these four bays runs a tall ashlar parapet . Towards the east end of each side extends a shallow pedimented transept . In the lower level stands a door with Doric pilasters in

2369-547: Is the burial vault of the Nisbets of Dean under the north side of the church, the entrance to which is marked by a stone plaque, bearing the family arms and dated 1692. The plaque was taken down and reinstated during the construction of the 1775 church and again during the construction of the current church. In 1772, the older church was condemned and replaced with a simple, barn-like church designed and built by James Weir. The church stood four bays in length and three in width with

2472-481: Is white marble, its front is divided into three compartments by Corinthian pilasters . The central compartment contains a cross of Aventurine marble with a golden centre and porphyry infill. The cross imitates the cross found in Saint Cuthbert 's tomb. Either side of the central compartment are compartments decorated with mother of pearl and lapis lazuli . Presbyterian churches have traditionally centred on

2575-933: The Caledonian Railway 's construction of Princes Street Station forced the poorhouse to move. From 1871, the poorhouse then occupied a new building in Craigleith , designed by Peddie and Kinnear . During the First World War , this was occupied as an army hospital and now forms the oldest part of the Western General Hospital . St Cuthbert's maintained mission halls in Morrison Street in Tollcross from 1849 to 1967 and on Freer Street in Fountainbridge from 1903 to 1958. The former church halls stand within

2678-702: The Cowgate , and Gardner's Crescent. The first synod of the United Presbyterian Church was held in the building in 1847 after the union of the Relief Church with the United Secession Church. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the congregation suffered due to the declining population of the Old Town and Southside . Membership did, however, remain over 700 in 1899. A notable member in this period

2781-632: The Jacobites and, at the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 , they raised a company of 300 to defend Edinburgh. During the Jacobite occupation of the city, Gib confronted the occupying forces, removing his congregation to the gates of the rebel camp at Dreghorn, near Colinton . The Secession Church soon faced a division over the Burgher Oath of 1690, which required public officials to "profess and allow with all my heart

2884-505: The Regent Morton occupied St Cuthbert's and were attacked by some of the defenders of the castle, who set fire to the church on 17 January 1573. The church was probably rebuilt after this. In 1593, a new church, known as the "Little Kirk" was constructed at the western end. When Charles I erected the Diocese of Edinburgh in 1633, St Cuthbert's was allocated to the new diocese. The church

2987-455: The Southside . The buildings cost over £1,400 and opened on 10 January 1742. By 1744, the congregational roll counted 1,279 people. Of these, 551 came from within the city walls and 269 came from the West Kirk parish, which, at the time, covered a large area around Edinburgh. The remainder came from areas as far as Cramond , Kirknewton , Liberton , and Ratho . The congregation strongly opposed

3090-666: The minster for an area stretching from the environs of Edinburgh to the River Almond in the west and the Pentland Hills in the south. The parish had been reduced in size in the mid-13th century by the detachment of Liberton and Corstorphine . Prior to the foundation of St Giles' in the 12th century, the parish may also have covered the burgh of Edinburgh itself. By the time of the Scottish Reformation , St Cuthbert's parish contained around 2,000 inhabitants and covered

3193-512: The nave , concluding: " ... the showy Baroque decoration of St. Cuthbert's is alien both to good taste and the traditions of Presbyterianism ." Writing soon after Drummond, William Forbes Gray described the church as "handsome and ornate". The authors of the Buildings of Scotland guide to Edinburgh praise Blanc's interior but state that exterior views "show an uneasy compromise, for snecked stonework and C15-16 Renaissance detail do not suit

Bristo Church - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-568: The pulpit rather than the communion table and, shortly after its unveiling, the Glasgow Herald condemned the table as a "stone altar ". Anti-Burgher The Anti-Burghers were opponents of the Burgher Oath on theological grounds. In 1733, the First Secession from the Church of Scotland resulted in the creation of the "Associate Presbytery". The church split in 1747 over

3399-421: The sack of Edinburgh in 1544. After the latter destruction, it may have been rebuilt: in 1550, Alexander Ales referred to "the new Parish Church of St Cuthbert's". By the time of the Scottish Reformation , St Cuthbert's parish covered a large area surrounding the burghs of Edinburgh and the Canongate : it bounded Newhaven and Cramond in the north; Corstorphine in the west, Colinton and Liberton in

3502-456: The "new parish church of St Cuthbert's". Alternatively, the church demolished in the 1770s may have been constructed in the wake of the Lang Siege . When the 1775 church was demolished, a number of Gothic moulded stones were discovered among the rubble : these probably came from the earlier church. James Gordon of Rothiemay's 1647 map of Edinburgh shows a long building with a pitched roof,

3605-518: The 'Synod of Protesters' in May 1821." The United Secession Church in turn united with the Relief Church in 1847 to create the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland . The United Presbyterian Church united with most of the Free Church of Scotland in 1900 to create the United Free Church of Scotland , most of whom ultimately reunited with the Church of Scotland in 1929. The Anti-Burgher Auld Lichts formed

3708-485: The 7th century, the church once covered an extensive parish around the burgh of Edinburgh . The church's current building was designed by Hippolyte Blanc and completed in 1894. St Cuthbert's is situated within a large churchyard that bounds Princes Street Gardens and Lothian Road . A church was probably founded on this site during or shortly after the life of Cuthbert . The church is first recorded in 1128, when David I granted it to Holyrood Abbey . At that time,

3811-691: The Anti-Burgher factions thus formed the rival independent synods: the General Associate Synod (Anti-Burghers) and the Associate Synod (Burghers). Eventually both the Burghers and Anti-Burghers had further splits: the Burghers in 1798 and the Anti-Burghers in 1806. Both factions formed their own, separate "Auld Licht" (old light) and "New Licht" factions. The more Calvinistic "Auld Lichts" held to

3914-516: The Associate Congregation at Edinburgh (1741–1753); Bristo Burgher Secession Church (1753–1820); Bristo United Secession Church (1820–1847); Bristo United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900); Bristo United Free Church (1900–1929); and Bristo Church of Scotland (1929–1937): James Thin wrote of the first meeting-house: "It had no architectural pretensions, was too low, and too narrow for its length, with heavy galleries, abundance of table seats, and

4017-591: The Burgher Synod to be dissociated from Bristo. The following year, formed a new congregation at Tolbooth Wynd with 150 members from Bristo. In 1804, the original building was replaced by a new church on the same site with 1,671 sittings. The site for the new church had been expanded by the demolition of part of Seceders' Land. While a student of the University of Edinburgh and lodging in Bristo Street, Thomas Carlyle

4120-555: The Church of Scotland and the right to nominate ministers of St Cuthbert's passed to the Crown . Nomination could, however, prove controversial: in 1732, the imposition of Patrick Wotherspoon as minister caused a riot around the doors of the church. This was quelled by the intervention of the town guard under Captain Porteous . David Williamson returned as minister at the revolution and remained until his death in 1706. Known as "Dainty Davie" for

4223-571: The Church of Scotland in 1839, to form the United Original Secession Church . The church split in 1852, with one party joining in the Free Church of Scotland and the others finally reuniting with the Church of Scotland in 1956. The careers of the father and son Thomas M'Crie the Elder and Thomas M'Crie the Younger illustrate the history of various Scottish denominations. 1. The father

Bristo Church - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-482: The Church of Scotland revived the Bristo name for the new charge: Bristo Memorial Church. From 1948, links between the former Bristo congregation and its namesake were maintained through an annual "Traditions Service" at Craigmillar, to which former members of the old Bristo Church were invited. The building was purchased by John Donald Pollock , who gifted it to University of Edinburgh as a venue for public lectures, meetings, and religious services. In this capacity, it

4429-616: The Constitutional Associate Presbytery. The four ministers who constituted it were James Aitken of Kirriemuir, Archibald Bruce , James Hog of Kelso and Thomas M'Crie the elder . The "Synod of Protesters" including George Paxton (minister) joined it in 1827 and it became the Original Secession Church . In 1842, the body united with the portion of the Old Light Burgher Synod which had not joined

4532-503: The General Assembly on six occasions and also acted as a Lord of Session . John Napier served as an elder of St Cuthbert's around the turn of the 17th century. In the 16th and 17th century, St Cuthbert's position in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle left the church vulnerable when the Castle came under attack. In January 1573, during the siege of the Castle in the Marian civil war , troops of

4635-565: The Jacobites restricted worship within the city churches yet worship continued in St Cuthbert's as usual and the minister, Neil McVicar , avoided the proclamation to pray for Charles Edward Stuart . McVicar instead offered the prayer: "Bless the King. Thou knowest what King I mean. As for the man that is come among us seeking an earthly crown, we beseech Thee in mercy to take him to Thyself, and give him

4738-561: The Pollock Memorial Hall already served this function. The plan for a chapel was shelved the following year. Pollock's death in 1962 removed a major obstacle to the university's plans to demolish the hall and its surrounding area. Buildings between Potterrow and Bristo Square , including the hall, were demolished between 1967 and 1971. The site is now covered by the Potterrow Student Centre . The following ministers served

4841-458: The Reformation, the size of the parish was reduced by the extension of Edinburgh's parishes in 1621 and again by the transfers of Saughton and Ravelston to Corstorphine and Craiglockhart to Colinton in 1627 and the transfer of Newhaven to North Leith in 1630. By 1642, the parish was divided into 21 area divisions; by 1743, this had increased to 26. In the same year, the population of

4944-416: The arch is a Venetian window with the central light blocked. The first stage of the tower terminates in a simple pediment , beneath whose entablature rests a sundial dated 1774. The apse of the war memorial chapel projects slightly from the north side of the ground floor of the tower. Above the first stage, Alexander Stevens' steeple begins as a narrower extension of the tower. The steeple displays

5047-405: The area around the hall to create a garden. For tax reasons, Pollock transferred the buildings directly to the university in 1943 before the plan could be completed. As early as 1945, William Oliver opposed further renovation of the building on the grounds it was structurally unsound. When, in 1956, a university chapel designed by Basil Spence was proposed for the site, Pollock objected, arguing

5150-468: The austere kirk style, and the great bulk and divergent roof pitch are at odds with the Georgian steeple." The authors do, however, praise the east elevation, "which succeeds by sheer swank". The church has been Category A listed since 1970. St Cuthbert's is notable for its ornate furnishings and decoration, many of which take inspiration from the Italian Renaissance . In the two decades after

5253-485: The castle to a road beneath the castle towards the east ′. The 1127 charter is followed almost immediately by another charter in 1128. This charter, issued by David I , gave the parish of St Cuthbert to Holyrood Abbey . This charter also granted the Abbey two chapels of the church, located at Liberton and Corstorphine ; these became independent parish churches around the middle of the 13th century. The church of St Cuthbert

SECTION 50

#1733093893952

5356-471: The church covered an extensive parish, which was gradually reduced until the 20th century by the erection and expansion of other parishes, many of which were founded as chapels of ease of St Cuthbert's. St Cuthbert's became a Protestant church at the Scottish Reformation in 1560: from after the Reformation until the 19th century, the church was usually called the West Kirk . After the Restoration in 1660,

5459-481: The church rose, the kirk session debated the appropriateness of the eastern towers. In the contemporary press, a Scotsman leader criticised the new church's proportions while the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch hailed the "worshipful feeling" the church inspired. Writing four decades after the church's construction, Andrew Landale Drummond contrasted the opulence of the chancel to the "inadequacy" of

5562-558: The church to try and change the locks. During periods of expulsion from Bristo, the Burgher faction met at Carrubber's Close in the Old Town and at Bainfield House, West Fountainbridge . The issue had to be settled by the Court of Session , which, finding the congregation had not been a "body corporate" at the time it purchased its lands in Bristo, ruled that the buildings were legally the property of two Burgher trustees. The Anti-Burgher congregation

5665-492: The churchyard slightly south of the church and facing onto King's Stables Road. The two-storeyed halls were completed in 1893 to designs of McCarthy and Watson and are in the Queen Anne style , displaying the influence of James Gibbs . The halls replaced an earlier building by MacGibbon and Ross , which was demolished due to the expansion of the railway. The halls were refurbished in 1981 and given over to commercial purposes after

5768-531: The congregation remained loyal to the Covenanters . The church's position at the foot of Castle Rock saw it damaged or destroyed at least four times between the 14th and 17th centuries. The current church was built between 1892 and 1894 to replace a Georgian church, which had itself replaced a building of uncertain age. The building was designed by Hippolyte Blanc in the Baroque and Renaissance styles and retains

5871-466: The construction of the current church and its predecessor. The north and south elevations terminate with square-based, three-storeyed Baroque towers on the east sides of the transepts. Small oblong windows pierce each of the upper two storeys and doors stand in the ground level. Each tower is crowned by a decorative urn in each corner and a lantern , which consists of a square-based lower stage and an octagon-based cupola upper stage. The lower stage of

5974-521: The creation of new rooms within the church itself in the early 1990s. They have been Category C listed since 2000. Before the building of the previous St Cuthbert's in 1775, the architectural history of the church is unclear. When the Georgian church was demolished, evidence of six previous buildings was claimed to have been found. The preceding church may have been built after the sack of Edinburgh in 1544 and before 1550, when Alexander Ales refers to

6077-767: The creation of other chapels and their elevation as parish churches, the size of St Cuthbert's parish was gradually reduced. In addition to chapels of ease founded by St Cuthbert's, the erection of other parish churches further reduced the size of St Cuthbert's parish. St Andrew's , St George's, St Mary's, and St Stephen's covered the expanding area of the New Town and were raised by the town council between 1781 and 1828. Otherwise, most of these churches were raised as missions by St Cuthbert's or by neighbouring churches. As early as 1836, St Cuthbert's supported missionaries in St Leonard's and Canonmills . A parish school in St Cuthbert's

6180-413: The current church opened in 1894, the features engendered controversy between those who praised their aesthetic qualities and those who believed such opulence was inappropriate in a Presbyterian church. New features were added throughout the 20th century. The central focus of the east end of St Cuthbert's is the communion table , which was ready in time for the opening of the church in 1894. The table

6283-454: The delicacy of his manners, Williamson was a leading figure in church and state, serving as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1702. St Cuthbert's was loyal to the Hanoverians during the Jacobite risings and provided a quota of volunteers to suppress the 1715 rebellion . During the 1745 rebellion , Jacobite troops were stationed in St Cuthbert's. During their occupation of Edinburgh,

SECTION 60

#1733093893952

6386-424: The flanks of the east elevation. The central section is dominated by the semi-circular apse , which is covered by a leaded half- dome beneath the apex of the pointed east gable . The lower stage of the apse is undecorated while the upper stage is divided into three bays by Corinthian pilasters. In each bay, an oblong window sits below a panel with carved garlands. The wall each side of the apse advances slightly from

6489-407: The influence of James Gibbs and Robert Adam ; though a more immediate influence is William Sibbald 's 1785 design for the spire of St Andrew's . The steeple's central position in the western gable helped to disguise the shallow pitch of the Georgian church's roof. The tower continues in stages divided by horizontal moulded bands. In the first stage, an oculus pierces the west elevation. In

6592-493: The issue of the Burgher Oath, which required holders of public offices to affirm approval of the religion "presently professed in this kingdom". The issue was civil compulsion in religious affairs, a forerunner of later arguments over the separation of church and state . Opponents of the Burgher Oath on theological grounds became known as the Anti-Burgher and showed a distinctive independence of conviction and an unwillingness to compromise over sincerely held beliefs. The Burgher and

6695-405: The lantern is pierced by a tall, open, round-headed arch in each face while angled buttresses with half-fluted double Ionic pilasters support each corner. The buttresses are capped by decorative scrolls that rest against the intermediate faces of the octagonal cupola while oculi pierce the cardinal faces. Each cupola is crowned by a dome capped with a ball finial . The twin towers form

6798-422: The last service was held and the congregation was dissolved. In 1940, the Church of Scotland's Home Board moved to raise the missionary church at Craigmillar to the status of a full charge with a new church building. The church at Craigmillar had been founded under the aegis of Liberton Kirk at the end of the 19th century and its building opened in 1904. At the request of members of the dissolved congregation,

6901-445: The late 19th century, the 18th-century church was inadequate for what was, by then, one of Scotland's largest congregations. The final service was held on 11 May 1890 and the foundation stone of the new church was laid on 18 May 1892 by William Hay, 10th Marquess of Tweeddale , Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland , who read a message from Queen Victoria . The new church, designed by Hippolyte Blanc ,

7004-402: The line of the roof. Between 1789 and 1790, Alexander Stevens heightened the tower by addition the steeple . The tower and its steeple are the only surviving portion of the Georgian church, having been retained during the construction of the current church. Internally, box pews and two storeys of semi-octagonal galleries surrounded the tall, canopied pulpit . The galleries were accessed by

7107-418: The line of the towers and is capped with a decorative scroll. The first stage of the tower's west elevation dates from James Weir's initial construction of the 1775 church; it is quoined and advances from the centre of the west gable. On the ground level, a channelled blind arch frames a large memorial sculpture of 1844 by Alexander Handyside Ritchie : this depicts David Dickson blessing children. Above

7210-484: The medieval St Cuthbert's was discovered in 1773: while demolishing the old church, workmen discovered bones and a leaden urn within a leaden coffin. The urn issued a fragrant smell and within it lay an embalmed human heart. The heart may have been that of a crusader that was returned to his family from the Holy Land . The church may have been destroyed during Richard II 's sack of Edinburgh in 1385 and again during

7313-586: The ministers and most of the congregation adhered to the Covenants and were expelled from the established church. David Williamson and James Reid ministered to the faithful at a new site in the Dean . At the Glorious Revolution in 1689, the church was damaged by cannon fire from the Castle and the congregation again removed to the Dean. The accession of William of Orange led to the abolition of episcopacy in

7416-541: The nascent denomination meet the request. On that date, 5,000 seceders attended a convention on the Braid Hills with preachers including Ralph Erskine . On 10 October that year, the praying society was received into the Secession Church as the Associate Congregation at Edinburgh and began to meet at Gardeners' Hall in Fountainbridge . Later the same year, the congregation ordained its first two elders. In 1741, Adam Gib

7519-611: The obligations of the Solemn League and Covenant , the "New Lichts" were more theologically liberal, a notable and continuing influence in the post-1847 United Presbyterian Church of Scotland . In 1820, the majority of the New Licht Anti-Burghers united with the New Licht Burghers as the United Secession Church . "A conservative 'clique' led by Professor George Paxton and Dr Stevenson [George Stevenson of Ayr] forming

7622-529: The parish was 9,493, rising to 12,000 in 1753; by 1822, the population of the parish's southern division alone was 20,250. In 1754, the kirk session agreed to address the parish's growing population by constructing the first of a number of chapels of ease . Completed in 1756 and known as the Buccleuch Chapel , the General Assembly recognised this first chapel as a parish quoad sacra in 1834. By

7725-467: The parish. The use of begging badges continued, with an interruption between 1731 and 1739, until 1762, when the church opened a charity poorhouse on Riding School Lane, now on the site of the Caledonian Hotel . The number of occupants rose from 84 at the poorhouse's foundation to 539 in 1837. By this time, the poorhouse incorporated a school for over 200 children as well as a sewing school. In 1867,

7828-563: The protestors, injuring several of them. Despite Wotherspoon's death before his installation could be concluded, some members responded by establishing a "Praying Society", meeting in Portsburgh . This was one of many such societies founded across Scotland around the time of the first secession. After the Secession of 1733 members of this praying society petitioned to be recognised by the newly formed Associate Presbytery . Only on 22 March 1738 did

7931-435: The pulpit with around a further twenty found buried below it. It was believed these had been placed there for acoustic effect. The church was screened from Bristo Street by a house known as Seceders' Land, constructed at the same time as the first meeting-house and serving as its manse . Like the second meeting-house, this survived until the demolition of Bristo Street from 1967. It was a prominent building of four storeys with

8034-457: The rebuild was in large part from the will of Rev James Veitch who had died in 1879. Except for the steeple , the church was designed by Hippolyte Blanc in the Renaissance and Baroque styles and constructed between 1892 and 1894. Blanc's exterior is executed in cream sandstone , roughly dressed and snecked with ashlar dressings. The exterior is divided into upper and lower levels by

8137-472: The remainder of its existence. 4. In 1827 the 'Old Light' Anti-Burgher Constitutional Associate Presbytery united with the 'Synod of Protesters' (which had left the New Licht' Anti-Burgher Synod in 1820-1) to form the 'Associate Synod of Original Seceders', also known as the Original Secession Church . The father and the son served together as ministers of this Church until the father's death in 1835, after which

8240-431: The secession's Burgher and Anti-Burgher factions in 1747. In 1820, the factions reunited at Bristo to form the United Secession Church and the first synod of the United Presbyterian Church was held here in 1847. The church was also active in domestic and foreign mission. Prominent missionaries to Africa Mary Slessor and Robert Laws worshipped at Bristo. The congregation rejoined the Church of Scotland in 1929 and

8343-419: The second stage, the tower rises above the line of the roof with a round-arched, latticed window in each face. In the third stage are four pedimented clock faces dated 1789. Urns top the corners of the second and third stages. Above the third stage stands an octagonal belfry with round-arched louvres and Doric pilasters . The belfry bears an eight-faced spire , pierced by circular openings and capped with

8446-615: The son continued to serve as such for the remainder of the church's existence. 5. In 1842 the Original Secession Church united with the portion of the Old Light Burghers which had refused to merge with the Church of Scotland , to form the ' United Original Secession Church ', and the son became a member of that church. 6. In 1852 some of the members of the United Original Secession Church, including

8549-686: The son, joined the Free Church of Scotland formed by the Disruption of 1843 . 5. In 1856 the son became a professor in the Theological College of English Presbyterian Church . 6. The son resigned from that post in 1866. (Other than the theological professors listed below) 1. Alexander Moncrieff (one of the 1733 seceders) (1747–1761) 2. William Moncrieff (1761–1786) 3. Archibald Bruce (1786–1806) 1. George Paxton (1807–1820) 1. Archibald Bruce (1806–1816) 2. George Paxton ( Original Secession Church – 1827–1836) 3. Thomas M'Crie

8652-419: The south; and Duddingston and Restalrig in the north. The parish also contained nunneries at Sciennes and the Pleasance . The first Protestant minister of St Cuthbert's was William Harlaw, a colleague of John Knox , who, unlike Knox himself, had remained in Scotland in the face of persecution. In 1574, Harlaw was joined by Robert Pont . Skilled in law as well as theology, Pont served as moderator of

8755-458: The steeple of the previous church. The Buildings of Scotland guide to Edinburgh calls the church's furnishings "extraordinary". Features include stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany , Douglas Strachan , and Ballantyne & Gardiner; mural paintings by Gerald Moira and John Duncan ; and memorials by John Flaxman and George Frampton . The church also possesses a ring of ten bells by Taylor of Loughborough . The church has been

8858-425: The tower as a First World War memorial chapel, which opened in 1921. The chapel's barreled plaster ceiling is shallow and compartmented. The dado is panelled with marble slabs inlaid with the names of the parish's fallen in lead ; the floor is also paved with marble. At the centre of the north wall, a round-headed arch beneath an oculus leads to a simple apse covered in gilded mosaic tiles and pierced by

8961-684: The true religion presently professed within this realm and authorised by the laws thereof". One faction – the Anti-Burghers – held that subscription to this oath was sinful while another – the Burghers – believed it was not. Adam Gib was a leading Anti-Burgher. At a meeting of the Synod in Bristo on 9 April 1747, members divided in a schism known as "The Breach". For a year, the two factions worshipped together in Bristo but relations were tense: each used its own collection plate and members of each faction broke into

9064-608: The western end of the sanctuary to improve the church's facilities and disability accessibility. The ground floor became the Lammermuir Room with the Lindisfarne Room above while the upper storey of the south transept became the Nor' Loch Room. The chancel consists of a semi-circular apse ; three bays divided by Doric pilasters terminate in round-headed arches that nestle into the vault of the half-domed ceiling. Within each arch stands

9167-405: The whole of Edinburgh before the parish of St Giles' was detached from it in the 12th century. The earliest explicit record of the church comes in a charter of c. 1127, issued by David I granting to St Cuthbert's Church near the castle ′ all the land below the castle, from the spring which rises beside the corner of the king's garden along the road to the church, and from the other side beneath

9270-500: Was again damaged during the Bishops' Wars in 1640–1642. The congregation had decamped to the Dean by May 1640. In the summer of 1650, the church was occupied as a battery by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell . The congregation met in the Town's College during these events, returning only in 1655. In 1660, at the Restoration and the reintroduction of episcopacy in the Church of Scotland ,

9373-476: Was an occasional visitor to the new church in its early years. In 1804, the congregation formed a day school, followed by a congregational library in 1814. The school was brought into the state system with the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 and its buildings disposed of in 1876. From 1830, the congregation supported a missionary society and a juvenile missionary society from 1839. From 1837, the congregation supported

9476-451: Was consecrated by David de Bernham , bishop of St Andrews on 16 March 1242; this was probably a re-consecration to correct the loss of any previous record of consecration. In 1251, Bishop David annexed the parsonage of St Cuthbert's to Holyrood, whereafter it became a perpetual vicarage , usually held by one of the canons of Holyrood. By the 15th century, the church contained multiple subsidiary altars served by chaplains. A relic of

9579-559: Was dissolved in 1937. The building was then used by the University of Edinburgh as Pollock Memorial Hall until its demolition along with much of the Bristo neighbourhood from 1967. Since 1940, the congregation's name has been maintained by Bristo Memorial Church in Craigmillar . The church's first meeting-house was a simple, low, narrow building demolished in 1802. It was replaced by a new, neoclassical meeting-house, opened in 1804. The congregation's buildings also included Seceders' Land :

9682-402: Was for the use of the minister while there were additional doors in the side walls as well as external stairs to the galleries. The grounds of the building were accessed via three gates, one of which incorporated a sentry box in which an elder stood to take collections as the congregation entered. When the church was demolished in 1802, three or four horses' skulls were found within the canopy of

9785-444: Was founded. Some secondary sources date its foundation to the latter part of the 7th century, during or shortly after the life of Saint Cuthbert . Others place its foundation and dedication to the saint after the arrival to Scotland of Queen Margaret in 1069. St Cuthbert's may be the church of "Edwinsbruch" which Symeon of Durham refers to as being in the possession of Lindisfarne in 854. The parish may also have covered

9888-411: Was named the Pollock Memorial Hall. The first event at the repurposed building, an exhibition of modern art, took place in autumn 1938. Pollock advocated preserving and adapting older buildings. After purchasing the hall, he began to buy up surrounding buildings in with a view to creating student union and club facilities in them before transferring them to the university. Pollock also proposed tidying up

9991-614: Was nearing ruin: in 1745, the roof of the Little Kirk was destroyed and in 1772, the collapse of some seating occasioned the condemnation of the building. The congregation decamped to the Methodist Chapel in Low Calton and returned on 31 July 1775, when the new church was opened. The Disruption of 1843 little affected St Cuthbert's. Neither minister joined the Free Church ; however, six elders did and founded Free St Cuthbert's. By

10094-411: Was opened on 11 July 1894. The interior of the church was embellished with furnishings and artwork throughout the 20th century. On 11 September 1930, Agatha Christie married her second husband, Max Mallowan , in the memorial chapel. From earliest times to the 19th century, St Cuthbert's parish covered a large area around Edinburgh. In the late Northumbrian period, St Cuthbert's may have served as

10197-467: Was ordained as the congregation's first minister. The year of Gib's ordination, the congregation bought from Arthur Straiton an acre and a half of land at Bristo to construct a new church and manse . At the time, the area was a collection of low dwellings outside the Bristo Port at the southern edge of Edinburgh. The Secession church at Bristo was the first church of any denomination to be established in

10300-485: Was ordained in 1796 as a minister of the Anti-Burgher Secession Synod. 2. The father was one of the ' Old Lights ' who left the Anti-Burgher Secession Synod in 1806 to form the "Constitutional Associate Presbytery". 3, The son was ordained in 1821 as a minister of the ' Old Light ' Anti-Burgher "Constitutional Associate Presbytery". The father and the son served together as ministers of that Presbytery for

10403-536: Was replaced with slates . The church was damaged during the Protectorate and afterwards repaired, except for the Little Kirk, which was converted into a burial aisle. The Little Kirk was unroofed in 1745. By the time of its demolition, St Cuthbert's was an amorphous collection of extensions; William Sime described an interior of "petty galleries stuck up one above another, to the very rafters, like so many pigeons' nests". The only portion of this church to survive

10506-490: Was the bookseller James Thin , namesake of the company he founded . Thin, who died in 1915, served as an elder of the church for 61 years and as session clerk for 58. Another notable figure in this period was Mary Slessor , who went out from the church to serve as a missionary in Calabar in 1876. The congregation supported another prominent missionary to Africa, Robert Laws , who, before his death in 1934, spent his final years as

10609-489: Was thus expelled in January 1753. They founded a new church nearby at Quarry's Close off Crosscauseway. Despite the fact that only one tenth of the congregation remained with the Burghers, these represented its wealthiest elements and counted for a third of the financial contributions to church funds. After the election of the church's third minister, James Peddie , in 1783, supporters of a rival candidate, James Hall, petitioned

#951048