| St Giles' Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| High Kirk of Edinburgh | |
Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles | |
 West façade of the church building | |
 | |
| 55°56′58″N03°11′27″W / 55.94944°N 3.19083°W /55.94944; -3.19083 | |
| Location | Royal Mile, Edinburgh |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Church of Scotland |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Dedication | Saint Giles |
| Consecrated | 6 October 1243 |
| Past bishop(s) | Bishop of Edinburgh |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Category A listed building |
| Designated | 14 December 1970 |
| Style | Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 196 feet (60 metres) |
| Width | 125 feet (38 metres)[1] |
| Height | 52 feet (16 metres)[2] |
| Spire height | 145 feet (44 metres)[3] |
| Bells | 3 |
| Administration | |
| Presbytery | Edinburgh |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | Vacant |
| Assistant | Sam Nwokoro |
| Laity | |
| Organist/Director of music | Michael Harris |
Historic site | |
Listed Building – Category A | |
| Official name | High Street and Parliament Square, St Giles (High) Kirk |
| Designated | 14 December 1970 |
| Reference no. | LB27381 |
St Giles' Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic:Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or theHigh Kirk of Edinburgh, is aparish church of theChurch of Scotland in theOld Town ofEdinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the addition of theThistle Chapel.[4] St Giles' is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, includingJohn Knox, who served as the church's minister after theScottish Reformation.[5]
Likely founded in the 12th century[6][7][8][a][b] and dedicated toSaint Giles, the church was elevated tocollegiate status byPope Paul II in 1467. In 1559, the church became Protestant with John Knox, the foremost figure of the Scottish Reformation, as its minister. After the Reformation, St Giles' was internally partitioned to serve multiple congregations as well as secular purposes, such as a prison and as a meeting place for theParliament of Scotland. In 1633,Charles I made St Giles' thecathedral of the newly createdDiocese of Edinburgh. Charles' attempt to impose doctrinal changes on the presbyterian Scottish Kirk, including aPrayer Book causing a riot in St Giles' on 23 July 1637, which precipitated the formation of theCovenanters and the beginnings of theWars of the Three Kingdoms.[8] St Giles' role in the Scottish Reformation and the Covenanters' Rebellion has led to its being called "theMother Church of WorldPresbyterianism".[12]
St Giles' is one of Scotland's most important medievalparish church buildings.[13] The first church of St Giles' was a smallRomanesque building of which only fragments remain. In the 14th century, this was replaced by the current building which was enlarged between the late 14th and early 16th centuries. The church was altered between 1829 and 1833 byWilliam Burn and restored between 1872 and 1883 byWilliam Hay with the support ofWilliam Chambers. Chambers hoped to make St Giles' a "Westminster Abbey for Scotland" by enriching the church and adding memorials to notable Scots. Between 1909 and 1911, the Thistle Chapel, designed byRobert Lorimer, was added to the church.[4][14]
Since the medieval period, St Giles' has been the site of nationally important events and services; the services of theOrder of the Thistle take place there. Alongside housing an active congregation, the church is one of Scotland's most popular visitor sites: it attracted over a million visitors in 2018.[15]
Saint Giles is the patron saint oflepers. Though chiefly associated with theAbbey of Saint-Gilles in modern-dayFrance, he was a popular saint in medievalScotland.[16][17][c] The church was first possessed by the monks of theOrder of St Lazarus, who ministered among lepers; ifDavid I orAlexander I is the church's founder, the dedication may be connected to their sisterMatilda, who foundedSt Giles in the Fields.[18]
Prior to theReformation, St Giles' was the only parish church in Edinburgh[19] and some contemporary writers, such asJean Froissart, refer simply to the "church of Edinburgh".[20] From its elevation tocollegiate status in 1467 until the Reformation, the church's full title was "the Collegiate Church of St Giles of Edinburgh".[21] Even after the Reformation, the church is attested as "the college kirk of Sanct Geill".[22] The charter of 1633 raising St Giles' to a cathedral records its common name as "Saint Giles' Kirk".[23]
St Giles' held cathedral status between 1633 and 1638 and again between 1661 and 1689 during periods ofepiscopacy within the Church of Scotland.[19] Since 1689, the Church of Scotland, as aPresbyterian church, has had nobishops and, therefore, nocathedrals. St Giles' is one of a number of former cathedrals in the Church of Scotland – such asGlasgow Cathedral orDunblane Cathedral – that retain their title despite having lost this status.[24] Since the church's initial elevation to cathedral status, the building as a whole has generally been called St Giles' Cathedral, St Giles' Kirk or Church, or simply St Giles'.[25]
The title "High Kirk" is briefly attested during the reign ofJames VI as referring to the whole building. A 1625 order of thePrivy Council of Scotland refers to the Great Kirk congregation, which was then meeting in St Giles', as the "High Kirk". The title fell out of use until reapplied in the late 18th century to the East (or New) Kirk, the most prominent of the four congregations then meeting in the church.[26][27] Since 1883, the High Kirk congregation has occupied the entire building.[28]
TheRoyal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland identified St Giles' as "the central focus of theOld Town".[29] The church occupies a prominent and flat portion of the ridge that leads down fromEdinburgh Castle; it sits on the south side of the High Street: the main street of the Old Town and one of the streets that make up theRoyal Mile.[9][30]
From its initial construction in the 12th century until the 14th century, St Giles' was located near the eastern edge of Edinburgh.[31][32] By the time of the construction of theKing's Wall in the mid-15th century, the burgh had expanded and St Giles' stood near its central point.[33] In the late medieval and early modern periods, St Giles' was also located at the centre of Edinburgh's civic life: theTolbooth – Edinburgh's administrative centre – stood immediately north-west of the church and theMercat Cross – Edinburgh's commercial and symbolic centre – stood immediately north-east of it.[34]
From the construction of the Tolbooth in the late 14th century until the early 19th century, St Giles' stood in the most constricted point of the High Street with theLuckenbooths and Tolbooth jutting into the High Street immediately north and north-west of the church.[35] A lane known as the Stinkand Style (or Kirk Style) was formed in the narrow space between the Luckenbooths and the north side of the church.[36][37] In this lane, openstalls known as the Krames were set up between thebuttresses of the church.[38]
St Giles' forms the north side ofParliament Square with the Law Courts on the south side of the square.[30] The area immediately south of the church was originally thekirkyard, which stretched downhill to theCowgate.[39] For more than 450 years, St Giles' served as the parish burial ground for the whole of the burgh. At its greatest extent, the burial grounds covered almost 0.5ha.[40] This was closed to burials in 1561 and handed over to the town council in 1566. From the construction ofParliament House in 1639, the former kirkyard was developed and the square formed. The west front of St Giles' faces the formerMidlothian County Buildings across West Parliament Square.[41]
The foundation of St Giles' is usually dated to 1124 and attributed toDavid I. Theparish was likely detached from the older parish ofSt Cuthbert's.[42][43] David raised Edinburgh to the status of aburgh and, during his reign, the church and its lands (St Giles' Grange) are first attested, being in the possession of monks of theOrder of Saint Lazarus.[11][44] Remnants of the destroyedRomanesque church display similarities to the church atDalmeny, which was built between 1140 and 1166.[19] St Giles' was consecrated byDavid de Bernham,Bishop of St Andrews on 6 October 1243. As St Giles' is attested almost a century earlier, this was likely a re-consecration to correct the loss of any record of the original consecration.[45]
In 1322 during theFirst Scottish War of Independence, troops ofEdward II of England despoiledHolyrood Abbey and may have attacked St Giles' as well.[46]Jean Froissart records that, in 1384, Scottish knights and barons met secretly with French envoys in St Giles' and, against the wishes ofRobert II, planned a raid into the northern counties of England.[47] Though the raid was a success,Richard II of England took retribution on the Scottish borders and Edinburgh in August 1385 and St Giles' was burned. The scorch marks were reportedly still visible on the pillars of the crossing in the 19th century.[48]
At some point in the 14th century, the 12th centuryRomanesque St Giles' was replaced by the currentGothic church. At least thecrossing andnave had been built by 1387 as, in that year,Provost Andrew Yichtson and Adam Forrester ofNether Liberton commissioned John Skuyer, John Primrose, and John of Scone to add five chapels to the south side of the nave.[49][50]
In the 1370s, the Lazarite friars supported the King of England and St Giles' reverted to the Scottish crown.[48] In 1393,Robert III granted St Giles' toScone Abbey in compensation for the expenses incurred by the abbey in 1390 during the King's coronation and the funeral of his father.[51][52] Subsequent records show clerical appointments at St Giles' were made by the monarch, suggesting the church reverted to the crown soon afterwards.[53]
In 1416, a pair ofwhite stork nested on top of the building.[54]
In 1419,Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas led an unsuccessful petition toPope Martin V to elevate St Giles' tocollegiate status. Unsuccessful petitions to Rome followed in 1423 and 1429.[55] The burgh launched another petition for collegiate status in 1466, which was granted byPope Paul II in February 1467.[56] The foundation replaced the role ofvicar with aprovost accompanied by acurate, sixteencanons, abeadle, a minister of the choir, and four choristers.[57]
During the period of these petitions, William Preston of Gorton had, with the permission ofCharles VII of France, brought from France the arm bone of Saint Giles, an importantrelic. From the mid-1450s, thePreston Aisle was added to the southern side of thechoir to commemorate this benefactor; Preston's eldest male descendants were given the right to carry the relic at the head of the Saint Giles' Day procession every 1 September.[58][59] Around 1460, extension of the chancel and the addition thereto of aclerestory were supported byMary of Guelders, possibly in memory of her husband,James II.[60]
In the years following St Giles' elevation to collegiate status, the number of chaplainries and endowments increased greatly and by theReformation there may have been as many as fifty altars in St Giles'.[61][62][d] In 1470, Pope Paul II further elevated St Giles' status by granting a petition fromJames III to exempt the church from the jurisdiction of theBishop of St Andrews.[64]
DuringGavin Douglas' provostship, St Giles' was central to Scotland's response to national disaster of theBattle of Flodden in 1513. As Edinburgh's men were ordered by the town council to defend the city, its women were ordered to gather in St Giles' to pray forJames IV and his army.[65] Requiem Mass for the King and the memorial mass for the dead of the battle were held in St Giles' andWalter Chepman endowed a chapel of theCrucifixion in the lower part of the kirkyard in the King's memory.[66][67]
In the summer of 1544 during the war known as theRough Wooing, after anEnglish army had burnt Edinburgh,Regent Arran maintained a garrison of gunners in the tower of the church.[68] New stalls for the choir were made by Robert Fendour andAndrew Mansioun between 1552 and 1554.[69]
The earliest record of Reformed sentiment at St Giles' is in 1535, when Andrew Johnston, one of the chaplains, was forced to leave Scotland on the grounds of heresy.[70] In October 1555, the town council ceremonially burned English language books, likely Reformers' texts, outside St Giles'.[71] The theft from the church of images ofthe Virgin,St Francis, and theTrinity in 1556 may have been agitation by reformers.[72] In July 1557, the church's statue of its patron, Saint Giles, was stolen and, according toJohn Knox, drowned in theNor Loch then burned.[73] For use in that year's Saint Giles' Day procession, the statue was replaced by one borrowed from Edinburgh'sFranciscans; though this was also damaged when Protestants disrupted the event.[74]
At the beginning of 1559, with theScottish Reformation gaining ground, the town council hired soldiers to defend St Giles' from the Reformers; the council also distributed the church's treasures among trusted townsmen for safekeeping.[75] At 3 pm on 29 June 1559 the army of theLords of the Congregation entered Edinburgh unopposed and, that afternoon,John Knox, the foremost figure of the Reformation in Scotland, first preached in St Giles'.[76][77] The following week, Knox was electedminister of St Giles' and, the week after that, the purging of the church's Roman Catholic furnishings began.[78]
Mary of Guise (who was then ruling as regent for her daughterMary) offeredHolyrood Abbey as a place of worship for those who wished to remain in the Roman Catholic faith while St Giles' served Edinburgh's Protestants. Mary of Guise also offered the Lords of the Congregation that the parish church of Edinburgh would, after 10 January 1560, remain in whichever confession proved the most popular among the burgh's inhabitants.[79][80] These proposals, however, came to nothing and the Lords of the Congregation signed a truce with the Roman Catholic forces and vacated Edinburgh.[80] Knox, fearing for his life, left the city on 24 July 1559.[81] St Giles', however, remained in Protestant hands. Knox's deputy,John Willock, continued to preach even as French soldiers disrupted his sermons, and ladders, to be used in theSiege of Leith, were constructed in the church.[80][82]
The events of theScottish Reformation thereafter briefly turned in favour of the Roman Catholic party: they retook Edinburgh and the French agentNicolas de Pellevé,Bishop of Amiens, reconsecrated St Giles' as a Roman Catholic church on 9 November 1559.[80][83] After theTreaty of Berwick secured the intervention ofElizabeth I of England on the side of the Reformers, they retook Edinburgh. St Giles' once again became a Protestant church on 1 April 1560 and Knox returned to Edinburgh on 23 April 1560.[80][84] TheParliament of Scotland legislated that, from 24 August 1560, thePope had no authority in Scotland.[85]
Workmen, assisted by sailors from thePort of Leith, took nine days to clear stone altars and monuments from the church. Precious items used in pre-Reformation worship were sold.[86] The church was whitewashed, its pillars painted green, and theTen Commandments andLord's Prayer painted on the walls.[87] Seating was installed for children and the burgh's council andincorporations. Apulpit was also installed, likely at the eastern side of thecrossing.[88] In 1561, the kirkyard to the south of the church was closed and most subsequent burials were conducted atGreyfriars Kirkyard.[89]
In 1567,Mary, Queen of Scots was deposed and succeeded by her infant son,James VI, St Giles' was a focal point of the ensuingMarian civil war. After his assassination in January 1570, theRegent Moray, a leading opponent ofMary, Queen of Scots, was interred within the church;John Knox preached at this event.[22] Edinburgh briefly fell to Mary's forces and, in June and July 1572,William Kirkcaldy of Grange stationed soldiers and cannon in the tower.[90] Although his colleague of 9 yearsJohn Craig had remained in Edinburgh during these events, Knox, his health failing, had retired toSt Andrews. A deputation from Edinburgh recalled him to St Giles' and there he preached his final sermon on 9 November 1572.[91] Knox died later that month and was buried in the kirkyard in the presence of theRegent Morton.[92][93]
After the Reformation, parts of St Giles' were given over to secular purposes. In 1562 and 1563, the western threebays of the church were partitioned off by a wall to serve as an extension to theTolbooth: it was used, in this capacity, as a meeting place for the burgh's criminal courts, theCourt of Session, and theParliament of Scotland.[94] Recalcitrant Roman Catholic clergy (and, later, inveterate sinners) were imprisoned in the room above the north door.[95] The tower was also used as a prison by the end of the 16th century.[96] TheMaiden – an early form ofguillotine – was stored in the church.[97] The vestry was converted into an office and library for the town clerk and weavers were permitted to set up their looms in the loft.[98]
Around 1581, the interior was partitioned into two meeting houses: the chancel became the East (or Little or New) Kirk and the crossing and the remainder of the nave became the Great (or Old) Kirk. These congregations, along withTrinity College Kirk and theMagdalen Chapel, were served by a jointkirk session. In 1598, the upper storey of the Tolbooth partition was converted into the West (or Tolbooth) Kirk.[99][100]
During the early majority ofJames VI, the ministers of St Giles' – led by Knox's successor,James Lawson – formed, in the words ofCameron Lees, "a kind of spiritual conclave with which the state had to reckon before any of its proposals regarding ecclesiastical matters could become law".[101] During his attendance at the Great Kirk, James was often harangued in the ministers' sermons and relations between the King and the Reformed clergy deteriorated.[102] In the face of opposition from St Giles' ministers, James introduced successive laws to establishepiscopacy in theChurch of Scotland from 1584.[103] Relations reached their nadir after a tumult at St Giles' on 17 December 1596. The King briefly removed toLinlithgow and the ministers were blamed for inciting the crowd; they fled the city rather than comply with their summons to appear before the King.[104] To weaken the ministers, James made effective, as of April 1598, an order of the town council from 1584 to divide Edinburgh into distinctparishes.[105] In 1620, the Upper Tolbooth congregation vacated St Giles' for the newly establishedGreyfriars Kirk.[106][107]
James' son and successor,Charles I, first visited St Giles' on 23 June 1633 during his visit to Scotland for his coronation. He arrived at the church unannounced and displaced thereader with clergy who conducted the service according to the rites of theChurch of England.[108] On 29 September that year, Charles, responding to a petition fromJohn Spottiswoode,Archbishop of St Andrews, elevated St Giles' to the status of acathedral to serve as the seat of the newBishop of Edinburgh.[23][109] Work began to remove the internal partition walls and to furnish the interior in the manner ofDurham Cathedral.[110]
Work on the church was incomplete when, on 23 July 1637, the replacement in St Giles' of Knox'sBook of Common Order by a Scottish version of the Church of England'sBook of Common Prayer provoked rioting due to the latter's perceived similarities to Roman Catholic ritual. Tradition attests that this riot was started when a market trader namedJenny Geddes threw her stool at thedean, James Hannay.[111][112] In response to the unrest, services at St Giles' were temporarily suspended.[113]
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The events of 23 July 1637 led to the signing of theNational Covenant in February 1638, which, in turn, led to theBishops' Wars, the first conflict of theWars of the Three Kingdoms.[114] St Giles' again became aPresbyterian church and the partitions were restored.[115] Before 1643, thePreston Aisle was also fitted out as a permanent meeting place for theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotland.[116]
In autumn 1641, Charles I attended Presbyterian services in the East Kirk under the supervision of its minister,Alexander Henderson, a leadingCovenanter. The King had lost the Bishops' Wars and had come to Edinburgh because theTreaty of Ripon compelled him to ratify Acts of the Parliament of Scotland passed during the ascendancy of the Covenanters.[117]
After the Covenanters' loss at theBattle of Dunbar, troops of theCommonwealth of England underOliver Cromwell entered Edinburgh and occupied the East Kirk as a garrison church.[118]General John Lambert and Cromwell himself were among English soldiers who preached in the church and, duringthe Protectorate, the East Kirk and Tolbooth Kirk were each partitioned in two.[119][120]
At theRestoration in 1660, the Cromwellian partition was removed from the East Kirk and a new royal loft was installed there.[121] In 1661, theParliament of Scotland, underCharles II, restored episcopacy and St Giles' became a cathedral again.[122] At Charles' orders, the body ofJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose – a senior supporter ofCharles I executed by the Covenanters – was re-interred in St Giles'.[123] The reintroduction of bishops sparked a new period of rebellion and, in the wake of theBattle of Rullion Green in 1666,Covenanters were imprisoned in the former priests' prison above thenorth door, which, by then, had become known as "Haddo's Hole" due to the imprisonment there in 1644 ofRoyalist leaderSir John Gordon, 1st Baronet, of Haddo.[124]
After theGlorious Revolution, the Scottish bishops remained loyal toJames VII.[125] On the advice ofWilliam Carstares, who later became minister of the High Kirk,William II supported the abolition of bishops in the Church of Scotland and, in 1689, theParliament of Scotland restoredPresbyterian polity.[126][127][128] In response, many ministers and congregants left theChurch of Scotland, effectively establishing the independentScottish Episcopal Church.[129] In Edinburgh alone, eleven meeting houses of this secession sprang up, including the congregation that becameOld St Paul's, which was founded whenAlexander Rose, the last Bishop of Edinburgh in the established church, led much of his congregation out of St Giles'.[130][131][132]
In 1699, the courtroom in the northern half of the Tolbooth partition was converted into theNew North (or Haddo's Hole) Kirk.[133] At theUnion of Scotland and England's Parliaments in 1707, the tune "Why Should I Be Sad on my Wedding Day?" rang out from St Giles' recently installedcarillon.[134] During theJacobite rising of 1745, inhabitants of Edinburgh met in St Giles' and agreed to surrender the city to the advancing army ofCharles Edward Stuart.[135]
From 1758 to 1800,Hugh Blair, a leading figure of theScottish Enlightenment and religious moderate, served as minister of the High Kirk; his sermons were famous throughout Britain and attractedRobert Burns andSamuel Johnson to the church. Blair's contemporary,Alexander Webster, was a leadingevangelical who, from his pulpit in the Tolbooth Kirk, expounded strictCalvinist doctrine.[136][137]
At the beginning of the 19th century, theLuckenbooths andTolbooth, which had enclosed the north side of the church, were demolished along with shops built up around the walls of the church.[138] The exposure of the church's exterior revealed its walls were leaning outwards.[26] In 1817, the city council commissionedArchibald Elliot to produce plans for the church's restoration. Elliot's drastic plans proved controversial and, due to a lack of funds, nothing was done with them.[139][140]
George IV attended service in the High Kirk during his 1822visit to Scotland.[141] The publicity of the King's visit created impetus to restore the now-dilapidated building.[142] With £20,000 supplied by the city council and the government,William Burn was commissioned to lead the restoration.[143][144] Burn's initial plans were modest, but, under pressure from the authorities, Burn produced something closer to Elliot's plans.[139][145]
Between 1829 and 1833, Burn significantly altered the church: he encased the exterior inashlar, raised the church's roofline and reduced its footprint. He also added north and west doors and moved the internal partitions to create a church in the nave, a church in the choir, and a meeting place for theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotland in the southern portion. Between these, the crossing and north transept formed a large vestibule. Burn also removed internal monuments; the General Assembly's meeting place in the Preston Aisle; and the police office andfire engine house, the building's last secular spaces.[146][147][139]
Burn's contemporaries were split between those who congratulated him on creating a cleaner, more stable building and those who regretted what had been lost or altered.[148][149] In the Victorian era and the first half of the 20th century, Burn's work fell far from favour among commentators.[150][151] Its critics includedRobert Louis Stevenson, who stated: "…zealous magistrates and a misguided architect have shorn the design of manhood and left it poor, naked, and pitifully pretentious."[152] Since the second half of the 20th century, Burn's work has been recognised as having secured the church from possible collapse.[153][154][155]
The High Kirk returned to the choir in 1831. The Tolbooth Kirk returned to the nave in 1832; when they left for anew church on Castlehill in 1843, the nave was occupied by the Haddo's Hole congregation. The General Assembly found its new meeting hall inadequate and met there only once, in 1834; the Old Kirk congregation moved into the space.[156][157]
At theDisruption of 1843,Robert Gordon andJames Buchanan, ministers of the High Kirk, left their charges and the established church to join the newly foundedFree Church.[e] A significant number of their congregation left with them; as did William King Tweedie, minister of the first charge of the Tolbooth Kirk,[f] and Charles John Brown, minister ofHaddo's Hole Kirk.[148][160][161] The Old Kirk congregation was suppressed in 1860.[162][g]
At a public meeting inEdinburgh City Chambers on 1 November 1867,William Chambers, publisher andLord Provost of Edinburgh, first advanced his ambition to remove the internal partitions and restore St Giles' as a "Westminster Abbey for Scotland".[165] Chambers commissionedRobert Morham to produce initial plans.[139] Lindsay Mackersy, solicitor and session clerk of the High Kirk, supported Chambers' work andWilliam Hay was engaged as architect; a management board to supervise the design of new windows and monuments was also created.[166][167]
The restoration was part of a movement forliturgical beautification in late 19th century ScottishPresbyterianism and many evangelicals feared the restored St Giles' would more resemble aRoman Catholic church than a Presbyterian one.[168][169] Nevertheless, thePresbytery of Edinburgh approved plans in March 1870 and the High Kirk was restored between June 1872 and March 1873: the pews and gallery were replaced with stalls and chairs and, for the first time since the Reformation,stained glass and anorgan were introduced.[139][170]
The restoration of the former Old Kirk and the West Kirk began in January 1879. In 1881,the West Kirk vacated St. Giles'.[171] During the restoration, many human remains were unearthed; these were transported in five large boxes for reinterment inGreyfriars Kirkyard.[172] Although he had managed to view the reunified interior, William Chambers died on 20 May 1883, only three days beforeJohn Hamilton-Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen,Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, ceremonially opened the restored church; Chambers' funeral was held in the church two days after its reopening.[139][173]
In 1911,George V opened the newly constructed chapel of the knights of theOrder of the Thistle at the south east corner of the church.[174]
Though the church had hosted a special service for the Church League for Women's Suffrage,Wallace Williamson’s refusal to pray for imprisonedsuffragettes led to their supporters disrupting services during late 1913 and early 1914.[175]
Ninety-nine members of the congregation – including the assistant minister, Matthew Marshall – were killed inWorld War I.[175] In 1917, St Giles' hosted the lying-in-state and funeral ofElsie Inglis, medical pioneer and member of the congregation.[176][177]
Ahead of the 1929 reunion of theUnited Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland, the Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Act 1925 transferred ownership of St Giles' from theCity of Edinburgh Council to the Church of Scotland.[178][179]
The church escapedWorld War II undamaged. The week afterVE Day, the royal family attended a thanksgiving service in St Giles'. The Albany Aisle at the north west of the church was subsequently adapted to serve as a memorial chapel to the 39 members of the congregation killed in the conflict.[180]
To mark her first visit to Scotland since hercoronation, Elizabeth II received theHonours of Scotland at anational service of thanksgiving in St Giles' on 24 June 1953.[181]
From 1973 to 2013,Gilleasbuig Macmillan served as minister of St Giles'.[182] During Macmillan's incumbency, the church was restored and the interior reoriented around a central communion table, the interior floor was levelled andundercroft space was created byBernard Feilden.[139][183]
St Giles' remains an active parish church as well as hosting concerts, special services, and events.[184] In 2018, St Giles' was the fourth most popular visitor site in Scotland with over 1.3 million visitors that year.[15]
On 12 September 2022, the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II was taken to the cathedral for a service of thanksgiving, having travelled fromBalmoral Castle to thePalace of Holyroodhouse the previous day.[185][186] The Queen's coffin then lay at rest at the cathedral for 24 hours, guarded constantly by the Royal Company of Archers, allowing the people of Scotland to pay their respects. In the evening, the Queen's children;King Charles III, thePrincess Royal, theEarl of Inverness and theEarl of Forfar held a vigil at the cathedral, a custom known as theVigil of the Princes.[187]
On 5 July 2023, theHonours of Scotland were presented toKing Charles III in a ceremony held in St Giles' Cathedral. The ceremony was formally described as aNational Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication to mark thecoronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.[188]
"No other Scottish church has so tangled an architectural history."[13]
The first St Giles' was likely a small,Romanesque building of the 12th century with a rectangular nave and semi-circularapsidalchancel. Before the middle of the 13th century, anaisle was added to the south of the church.[18] Archaeological excavations in the 1980s found the 12th-century church was likely constructed of pink sandstone and grey whinstone.[40] The excavations, found the first church was built on a substantial clay platform created to level the steep slope of the area. This platform was surrounded by a boundary ditch.[40]
By 1385, this building had likely been replaced by the core of the current church: anave and aisles of fivebays, acrossing andtransepts, and achoir of four bays.[189] The church was extended in stages between 1387 and 1518.[19][190] InRichard Fawcett's words, this "almost haphazard addition of large numbers of chapels" produced "an extraordinarily complex plan".[191] The resultant profusion of outer aisles is typical ofFrench medieval church architecture but unusual in Britain.[192][193]
Apart from the internal partitioning of the church in the wake of theReformation, few significant alterations were made until the restoration byWilliam Burn in 1829–1833, which included the removal of several bays of the church, the addition ofclerestories to the nave and transepts, and the encasement of the church's exterior in polishedashlar.[139] The church was significantly restored underWilliam Hay between 1872 and 1883, including the removal of the last internal partitions. In the late 19th century, a number of ground level rooms were added around the periphery of the church. TheThistle Chapel was added to the south-east corner of the church byRobert Lorimer in 1909–11.[139][155] The most significant subsequent restoration commenced in 1979 underBernard Feilden and Simpson & Brown: this included the levelling of the floor and the rearrangement of the interior around a central communion table.[139][194]
The exterior of the church, with the exception of the tower, dates almost entirely fromWilliam Burn's restoration of 1829–1833 and afterwards.[139][195] Prior to this restoration, St Giles' possessed what Richard Fawcett called a "uniquely complex external appearance" as the result of the church's numerous extensions; externally, a number of chapels were emphasised bygables.[196]
Following the early 19th-century demolition of theLuckenbooths,Tolbooth, and shops built against St Giles', the walls of the church were exposed to be leaning outward by as much as one and a half feet in places. Burn encased the exterior of the building in polished ashlar of gray sandstone from Cullalo inFife. This layer is tied to the existing walls by iron cramps and varies in width from eight inches (20 centimetres) at the base of the walls to five inches (13 centimetres) at the top.[195] Burn co-operated withRobert Reid, the architect of new buildings in Parliament Square, to ensure the exteriors of their buildings would complement each other.[197] Burn significantly altered the profile of the church: he expanded thetransepts, created aclerestory in thenave, added new doorways in the west front and north and south transepts, and replicated thecuspedcresting from the east end of the church throughout theparapet.[139] Alongside theThistle Chapel, extensions since the Burn restoration include William Hay's additions of 1883: rooms south of the Moray Aisle, east of the south transept, and west of the north transept; in 1891,MacGibbon and Ross added a ladies’ vestry – now the shop – at the east of the north transept.[198][199]
Burn created a symmetrical westernfaçade by replacing the west window of the Albany Aisle at the northwest corner of the church with a doubleniche and by moving the west window of the inner south nave aisle to repeat this arrangement in the southern half.[200] The west doorway dates from the Victorian restoration and is byWilliam Hay: the doorway is flanked by niches containing small statues of Scottish monarchs and their consorts (from left to right,Alexander I, David I,Alexander III,Saint Margaret,Margaret Tudor,Robert the Bruce,James I andJames IV) and churchmen (from left to right,Gawin Douglas,John Knox,William Forbes andAlexander Henderson) byJohn Rhind, who also carved therelief ofSaint Giles in thetympanum.[201] The metalwork of the west door is bySkidmore.[202] In 2006, new steps and an access ramp were added to the west door byMorris and Steedman Associates.[203]
In order to improve access to Parliament Square, Burn demolished the westernmost twobays of the outer south nave aisle, including the southporch and door. Burn also removed the western bay from the Holy Blood Aisle at the south of the church and, from the north side of the nave, removed the north porch along with an adjoining bay.[204][205] The lost porches likely dated from the late-15th century and were matched only by those at St John's Kirk,Perth andSt Michael's Kirk, Linlithgow as the grandest two-storey porches on Scottish medieval churches. Like the porch at Linlithgow, on which they were likely based, the porches at St Giles' possessed an entry arch below anoriel window.[206] Burn replicated this arrangement in a new doorway at the west of the Moray Aisle.[200]
On visiting the church prior to theBurn restoration,Thomas Rickman wrote: "... a few of the windows have thetracery remaining, but from most of them it has been cut away."[207] Views of the church before the Burn restoration show intersecting tracery in some of the choir windows and looping patterns in the windows of the Holy Blood Aisle.[208] Burn retained thetracery of the great east window, which had been restored byJohn Mylne the Younger in the mid-17th century. In the other windows Burn inserted new tracery based on late medieval Scottish examples.[200][209]
St Giles' possesses a central tower over itscrossing: this arrangement is common in larger Scottish medievalsecular churches.[210][211] The tower was constructed in two stages. The lower section of the tower haslancet openings with Y-shapedtracery on every side.[212] This had likely been completed by 1416, in which year theScotichronicon recordsstorks nesting there.[213] The upper stage of the tower has clusters of threecusped lancet openings on each side. The date of this work is uncertain, but it may relate both to fines levied on building works at St Giles' in 1486 and to rules of 1491 for the master mason and his men.[212][214] From at least 1590, there was aclock face on the tower and, by 1655, there were three faces. The clock faces were removed in 1911.[215]
St Giles'crown steeple is one of Edinburgh's most famous and distinctive landmarks.[212][216][217]Cameron Lees wrote of the steeple: "Edinburgh would not be Edinburgh without it."[218]Dendrochronological analysis dates the crown steeple to between 1460 and 1467.[219][h] The steeple is one of two surviving medieval crown steeples in Scotland: the other is atKing's College, Aberdeen and dates from after 1505.[222] John Hume called St Giles' crown steeple "a serene reminder of the imperial aspirations of the lateStewart monarchs".[223] The design, however, is English in origin, being found atSt Nicholas' Church, Newcastle before it was introduced to Scotland at St Giles'; the medievalSt Mary-le-Bow, London, may also have possessed a crown steeple.[212][224][225] Another crown steeple existed atSt Michael's Parish Church, Linlithgow until 1821 and others may have been planned, and possibly begun, at the parish churches ofHaddington andDundee.[226] These other examples are composed only of diagonalflying buttresses springing from the four corners of the tower; whereas the St Giles' steeple is unique among medieval crown steeples in being composed of eight buttresses: four springing from the corners and four springing from the centre of each side of the tower.[227][228][229]
For the arrival into Edinburgh ofAnne of Denmark in 1590, 21weather vanes were added to the crests of the steeple; these were removed prior to 1800 and replacements were installed in 2005.[228][230] The steeple was repaired byJohn Mylne the Younger in 1648. Mylne addedpinnacles half-way up the crests of the buttresses; he is also largely responsible for the present appearance of the central pinnacle and may have rebuilt the tower'straceriedparapet.[228][231] Theweathercock atop the central pinnacle was created by Alexander Anderson in 1667; it replaced an earlier weathercock of 1567 by Alexander Honeyman.[232]
TheBuildings of Scotland series calls the nave "archaeologically the most complicated part of church".[233] Though the nave dates to the 14th century and is one of the oldest parts of the church, it has been significantly altered and extended since.[234]
The ceiling over the central section of the nave is atierceron vault inplaster; this was added duringWilliam Burn's restoration of 1829–1833. Burn also heightened the walls of the central section of the nave by 16 feet (4.9 metres), adding windows to create aclerestory.[220] Burn is usually credited with removing a medieval vaulted ceiling from the nave; however, there is no contemporary record of this and it may have been removed before Burn's time.[235] Thecorbels andshafts leading to thespringers of the vaults were added by William Hay in 1882.[233] Burn also removed anattic from above the central section of the nave: this contained several rooms and housed the church's bell-ringer.[97][236] The outline of the nave roof prior to the Burn restoration can be observed on the wall above the western arch of the crossing.[237]
Hay is also responsible for the presentarcade.[233] Burn had earlier heightened the medieval arcade and replaced the octagonal 14th centurypillars with pillars based on the 15th century example in the Albany Aisle. Hay replaced these pillars with replicas of the octagonal 14th century pillars of the choir.[233][220] Originally, the south arcade of the nave was lower with aclerestory window above each arch. The lower height of the original arcade is indicated by a fragment of an arch, springing from the south westpier of the crossing.[220] The arches of the clerestory windows, now filled-in, are still visible above the each arch of the arcade on the south side of the nave.[233] The two arches nearest the crossing at the south nave arcade show taller arches, which likely relate to a medieval scheme to heighten the arcade; however, the presence of these blind arches in only two bays suggests the scheme proved abortive.[233][220]
The ceiling of the north nave aisle is arib vault in a similar style to the Albany Aisle: this suggests the north nave aisle dates to the same campaign of building at the turn of the 15th century.[238][239][240]
In the first decade of the 15th century, the Albany Aisle was erected as a northward extension of the two westernmost bays of the north nave aisle.[19][195] The Aisle consists of two bays under a stonerib-vaulted ceiling.[241][242] The west window of the chapel was blocked up during the Burn restoration of 1829–1833.[240] The north wall of the Aisle contains a semi-circular tomb recess.[238][240] The ceiling vaults are supported by a bundled pillar that supports a foliatecapital and octagonalabacus upon which are theescutcheons of the Aisle's donors:Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany andArchibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas.[238][239] This is the oldest example of a style of pillar repeated throughout the later additions to St Giles'.[243][244] Richard Fawcett describes the repetition of this style of pillar and arcading as providing "some measure of control […] to achieve a measure of architectural unity".[191] Neither Albany nor Douglas was closely associated with St Giles' and tradition holds the aisle was donated in penance for their involvement in the death ofDavid Stewart, Duke of Rothesay.[239][245][246][247] In 1882, the floor of the Albany Aisle was paved withMinton tiles, bands of Irishmarble, and tiled medallions depicting thearms of Scotland;Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany; andArchibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas.[248] For the Aisle's dedication as a memorial chapel in the wake of the Second World War, the Minton tiles were replaced with Leoch paving stones fromDundee while the heraldic medallions and marble bands were retained.[249]
East of the Albany Aisle, two light-coloured stones below theBlack Watch'sEgyptian Campaign memorial mark the site of the Norman north door. Until its removal at the end of the 18th century, the doorway was the only feature of the 12th centuryRomanesque churchin situ.[19][195][i] An illustration of 1799 shows the doorway as a highly decorated structure, bearing similarities to doorways at the churches ofDalmeny andLeuchars.[19][251] A porch stood over the site of the north door until theBurn restoration of 1829–1833. This consisted of a chamber over the doorway accessed from the church by aturnpike stair.[240][252] The lancet arch of the stairway door now frames the Second BattalionRoyal Scots Fusiliers'Second Boer War memorial. East of the former doorway is a recessedstoup.[238][240][253]
Two chapels formerly stood north of the easternmost two bays of the north nave aisle. Only the easternmost of these, theSt Eloi Aisle, survived the Burn restoration.[254] Its ceiling is abarrel vault with superficial ribs: this was installed duringWilliam Hay's restoration of 1881–83 and incorporates aboss from the original vault. The archway between the St Eloi Aisle and the north nave aisle is original to the 15th century construction.[238] The west wall of the St Eloi Aisle contains a Romanesque capital from the original church. It was discovered during the clearance of rubble around the medieval east window of the north transept in 1880 and was reset in its present position.[195][238][255] The floor of the St Eloi Aisle is marble withmosaic panels byMinton, depicting the emblem theIncorporation of Hammermen between the symbols of thefour evangelists.[256]
The inner and outer south nave aisles were likely begun in the later 15th century around the time of the Preston Aisle, which they strongly resemble.[238] They were likely completed by 1510, when altars of theHoly Trinity,Saint Apollonia, andSaint Thomas were added to the west end of the inner aisle.[238] The current aisles replaced the original south nave aisle and the five chapels by John Primrose, John Skuyer, and John of Perth, named in a contract of 1387.[238] The inner aisle retains its originalquadripartite vault; however, the plastertierceron vault of the outer aisle (known as the Moray Aisle) dates toWilliam Burn's restoration.[238][240] During the Burn restoration, the two westernmost bays of the outer aisle were removed. There remains a prominent gap between the pillars of the missing bays and the 19th century wall. At the west end of the outer aisle, Burn added a new wall with a door andoriel window.[240]Burn also replaced the window of the inner aisle with a smaller window, centred north of the original in order to accommodate a doubleniche on the exterior wall. The outline of the original window is still visible in the interior wall.[238]
In 1513,Alexander Lauder of Blyth commissioned an aisle of two bays at the eastern end of the outer south nave aisle: the Holy Blood Aisle is the easternmost and only surviving bay of this aisle.[1] It is named for theConfraternity of the Holy Blood, to whom it was granted upon completion in 1518.[257] The western bay of the Aisle and the pillar separating the two bays were removed during the Burn restoration and the remainder was converted to a heating chamber.[258] The Aisle was restored to ecclesiastical use underWilliam Hay.[238] An elaborate late Gothic tomb recess occupies the south wall of the aisle.[238][240]
Thepiers of thecrossing date to the original building campaign of the 14th century and may be the oldest part of the present church.[19] The piers were likely raised around 1400, at which time the present vault and bell hole were created.[240][259] The first stages of bothtransepts were likely completed by 1395, in which year the St John's Aisle was added to the north of the north transept.[19]
Initially, the northtransept extended no further than the north wall of theaisles and possessed atunnel-vaulted ceiling at the same height as those in the crossing and aisles. The arches between the transept and north aisles of the choir and nave appear to be 14th century.[240][260] The St John's Chapel, extending north of the line of the aisles, was added in 1395; in its western end was aturnpike stair, which, at theBurn restoration, was re-set in the thick wall between the St Eloi Aisle and the north transept.[19][240][255][260] The remains of St John's Chapel are visible in the east wall of the north transept: these include fragments of vaulting and a medieval window, which faces into the Chambers Aisle. The bottom half of this window's tracery, as far as itsembattledtransom, is original; curvilineartracery was added to the upper half byMacGibbon and Ross in 1889–91.[240][255][260] At the Burn restoration, the north transept was heightened and aclerestory and plaster vaulted ceiling inserted.[240][260] A screen of 1881–83 byWilliam Hay crosses the transept in line with the original north wall, creating avestibule for the north door. The screen contains sculptures of the patron saints of theIncorporated Trades of Edinburgh byJohn Rhind as well as thearms ofWilliam Chambers.[260][261] The ceiling and open screens within the vestibule were designed byEsmé Gordon and added in 1940.[260] A fragment of medieval blind tracery is visible at the western end of this screen.[260]
Initially, the south transept only extended to the line of the south aisles; it was extended in stages as the Preston, Chepman, and Holy Blood Aisles were added.[233] The original barrel vault remains as far as an awkwardly insertedtransverse arch supported on heavycorbels between the inner transept arches: this arch was likely inserted after the creation of the Preston Aisle, when the inner transept arches were expanded accordingly.[233][240] The transverse arch carries an extension to the lower part of the tower, including a 15th-century traceried window.[262] The south transept was heightened and a clerestory and plaster vaulted ceiling were inserted during the Burn restoration.[233]
TheBuildings of Scotland series calls thechoir the "finest piece of late medieval parish church architecture in Scotland".[228] The choir dates to two periods of building: one in the 14th century and one in the 15th.[263] The archaeological excavations indicate the choir was extended to almost its current size in a single phase before the mid-15th-century work.[40]
The choir was initially built as ahall church: as such, it was unique in Scotland.[228] The western three bays of the choir date to this initial period of construction. The arcades of these bays are supported by simple, octagonal pillars.[228] In the middle of the 15th century, twobays were added to the east end of the choir and the central section was raised to create aclerestory under atierceron-vaulted ceiling in stone.[264] Thespringers of the original vault are still visible above some of the capitals of the choir pillars and the outline of the original roof is visible above the eastern arch of the crossing.[237] Agrotesque at the intersection of the central rib of the ceiling and the east wall of the tower may be a fragment of the 12th century church.[44] The two pillars and two demi-pillars constructed during this expansion in the easternmost bays of the choir are similar in type to those in the Albany Aisle.[264]
Of the two pillars added during this extension, the northern one is known as the "King's Pillar" as itscapital bears thearms ofJames III on its east face;James II on its west face;Mary of Guelders on its north face; andFrance on its south face.[265][266] These arms date the work between the birth of James II in 1453 and the death of Mary of Guelders in 1463; the incompletetressure in the arms of James II may indicate he was dead when the work commenced, dating it to after 1460.[267] The southern pillar is known as the "Town's Pillar".[266] Itscapital bears thearms of William Preston of Gorton on its east face;James Kennedy, Bishop of St Andrews on its west face;Nicholas Otterbourne, Vicar of Edinburgh on its north face; andEdinburgh on its south face. The southrespond bears the arms of Thomas Cranstoun, Chief Magistrate of Edinburgh; the north respond bears the arms ofAlexander Napier of Merchiston,Provost of Edinburgh.[268] Archaeological excavations in the 1980s found evidence these works and the creation of the Preston Aisle may have been partially spurred by a structural failure of parts of the church due to poor foundations and the need for renovations.[40]
Of the two choiraisles, the north is only two thirds the width of the south aisle, which contained theLady Chapel prior to the Reformation.[228][221] Richard Fawcett suggests this indicates that both choir aisles were rebuilt after 1385.[221] In both aisles, the curvature of thespandrels between theribs gives the effect of a dome in each bay.[236][245][269] The ribs appear to serve a structural purpose; however, the lack of any intersection between the lateral and longitudinal cells of each bay means that these vaults are effectively pointedbarrel vaults.[13][270] Having been added as part of the mid-15th century extension, the eastern bays of both aisles contain proper lateral cells.[264] The north wall of the north choir aisle contains a 15th-century tomb recess; in this wall, agrotesque, which may date to the 12th century church, has been re-set.[44][264] At the east end of the south aisle is a stone staircase added byBernard Feilden and Simpson & Brown in 1981–82.[264]
The Chambers Aisle stands north of the westernmost bay of the north choir aisle. This chapel was created in 1889–91 byMacGibbon and Ross as a memorial toWilliam Chambers.[264] This Aisle stands on the site of the medievalvestry, which, at the Reformation, was converted to the Town Clerk's office before being restored to its original use byWilliam Burn.[271] MacGibbon and Ross removed the wall between the vestry and the church and inserted a new arch and vaulted ceiling, both of which incorporate medieval masonry.[264][272]
The Preston Aisle stands south of the western three bays of the south choir aisle. It is named for William Preston of Gorton, who donatedSaint Giles' arm-bone to the church; Preston'sarms recur in the bosses and capitals of the chapel.[255][273] The town council began the Aisle's construction in 1455, undertaking to complete it within seven years; however, the presence in the Aisle of a boss bearing the arms ofLord Hailes,Provost of Edinburgh in the 1480s, suggests construction took significantly longer.[264] The Aisle'stierceron vault and pillars are similar to those in the 15th century extension of the choir.[255][260] The pillars and capitals also bear a strong resemblance to those between the inner and outer south nave aisles.[274]
The Chepman Aisle extends south of the westernmost bay of the Preston Aisle. The Aisle was founded byWalter Chepman; permission for construction was granted in 1507 and consecration took place in 1513.[260] The ceiling of the Aisle is a pointedbarrel vault whose centralboss depicts an angel bearing Chepman'sarmsimpaled with those of his first wife, Mariota Kerkettill.[260][274] The Aisle was divided into three storeys during the Burn restoration then restored in 1888 under the direction ofRobert Rowand Anderson.[275]
St Giles' is glazed with 19th and 20th century stained glass by a diverse array of artists and manufacturers. Between 2001 and 2005, the church's stained glass was restored by the Stained Glass Design Partnership ofKilmaurs.[276]
Fragments of the medievalstained glass were discovered in the 1980s: none was obviously pictorial and some may have beengrisaille.[62] A pre-Reformation window depicting an elephant and the emblem of theIncorporation of Hammermen survived in theSt Eloi Aisle until the 19th century.[277] References to the removal of the stained glass windows after theReformation are unclear.[87][278] A scheme of coloured glass was considered as early as 1830: three decades before the first new coloured glass in a Church of Scotland building was installed atGreyfriars Kirk in 1857; however, the plan was rejected by thetown council.[205][279]
By the 1860s, attitudes to stained glass had liberalised within ScottishPresbyterianism and the insertion of new windows was a key component ofWilliam Chambers' plan to restore St Giles'.[165] The firm ofJames Ballantine was commissioned to produce a sequence depicting the life ofChrist, as suggested by the artistsRobert Herdman andJoseph Noel Paton. This sequence commences with a window of 1874 in the north choir aisle and climaxes in the great east window of 1877, depicting theCrucifixion andAscension.[280][281]
Other windows by Ballantine & Son are theProdigal Son window in the south wall of the south nave aisle; the west window of the Albany Aisle, depicting theparable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins and theparable of the talents (1876); and the west window of the Preston Aisle, depictingSaint Paul (1881).[282] Ballantine & Son are also responsible for the window of the Holy Blood Aisle, depicting the assassination and funeral of theRegent Moray (1881): this is the only window of the church that depicts events from Scottish history.[283][284][285] Andrew Ballantine produced the west window in the south wall of the inner south nave aisle (1886): this depicts scenes from the life ofMoses.[283] The subsequent generation of the Ballantine firm, Ballantine & Gardiner, produced windows depicting the firstPentecost (1895) andSaint Peter (1895–1900) in the Preston Aisle;David andJonathan in the east window of the south side of the outer south nave aisle (1900–01);Joseph in the east window of the south wall of the inner south nave aisle (1898); and, in the windows of the Chambers Aisle,Solomon's construction of theTemple (1892) and scenes from the life ofJohn the Baptist (1894).[282][272]
Multiple generations of the Ballantine firm executedheraldic windows in theoriel window of the outer south nave aisle (1883) and in theclerestory of the choir (1877–92): the latter series depicts the arms of theIncorporated Trades of Edinburgh. David Small is responsible for the easternmost window of the north side of the clerestory (1879).[282] Ballantine & Son also produced the window of the Chepman Aisle, showing the arms of notable 17th centuryRoyalists (1888); in the St Eloi Aisle, the Glass Stainers' Company produced a companion window, showing the arms of notableCovenanters (1895).[283][286]
Daniel Cottier designed the east window of the north side of the north nave aisle, depicting theChristian virtues (1890). Cottier also designed the great west window, now-replaced, depicting theProphets (1886).[283][287][288]Edward Burne-Jones designed the window in the west wall of the north nave aisle (1886). This was produced byMorris & Co. and showsJoshua and theIsraelites in the upper section withJephthah's daughter,Miriam, andRuth in the lower section.[283][287][288] Other stained glass artists of the Victorian era represented in St Giles' areBurlison & Grylls, who executed thePatriarchs window in the west wall of the inner south nave aisle andCharles Eamer Kempe, who created the west window of the south side of the outer south nave aisle: this depicts biblical writers.[283]
Oscar Paterson is responsible for the west window of the north side of the north nave aisle (1906): this shows saints associated with St Giles'.[283]Karl Parsons designed the west window of the south side of the south choir aisle (1913): this depicts saints associated with Scotland.[281]Douglas Strachan is responsible for the windows of the choir clerestory that depict saints (1932–35) and for the north transept window (1922): this showsChrist walking on water andstilling the Sea of Galilee, alongside golden angels subduing demons that represent thefour winds of the earth.[176][283][289]
Windows of the later 20th century include a window in the north transeptclerestory byWilliam Wilson, depictingSaint Andrew (1954), and the east window of the Albany Aisle, on the theme ofJohn the Divine, designed byFrancis Spear and painted by Arthur Pearce (1957).[283][290][291] The most significant recent window is the great west window, a memorial toRobert Burns (1985). This was designed by Leifur Breiðfjörð to replace the Cottier window of 1886, the glass of which had failed.[283][292][293] A scheme of coloured glass, designed by Christian Shaw, was installed in the south transept behind the organ in 1991.[291]
There are over a hundred memorials in St. Giles'; most date from the 19th century onwards.[294]
In the medieval period, the floor of St Giles' was paved with memorial stones and brasses; these were gradually cleared after theReformation.[295] At theBurn restoration of 1829–1833, most post-Reformation memorials were destroyed; fragments were removed toCulter Mains andSwanston.[296]
The installation of memorials to notable Scots was an important component ofWilliam Chambers' plans to make St Giles' the "Westminster Abbey of Scotland".[295][165] To this end, a management board was set up in 1880 to supervise the installation of new monuments; it continued in this function until 2000.[297] All the memorials were conserved between 2008 and 2009.[298]
Medieval tomb recesses survive in the Preston Aisle, Holy Blood Aisle, Albany Aisle, and north choir aisle; alongside these, fragments of memorial stones have been re-incorporated into the east wall of the Preston Aisle: these include a memorial to "Johannes Touris de Innerleith" and a carving of thecoat of arms of Edinburgh.[296]
A memorial brass to theRegent Moray is situated on his monument in the Holy Blood Aisle. The plaque depicts female personifications of Justice and Religion flanking the Regent'sarms and an inscription byGeorge Buchanan. The plaque was inscribed byJames Gray on the rear of a fragment of a late 15th century memorial brass: a fibreglass replica of this side of the brass is installed on the opposite wall.[296][299] The plaque was originally set in a monument of 1570 byMurdoch Walker and John Ryotell: this was destroyed at the Burn restoration but the plaque was saved and reinstated in 1864, whenJohn Stuart, 12th Earl of Moray commissionedDavid Cousin to design a replica of his ancestor's memorial.[281][299]
A memorial tablet in the basement vestry commemoratesJohn Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl, who was buried in the Chepman Aisle in 1579.[296] Aplaque commemorating theNapiers ofMerchiston is located on the north exterior wall of the choir.[212] This was likely installed on the south side of the church byArchibald Napier, 1st Lord Napier in 1637; it was moved to its present location during the Burn restoration.[227][296]
Most memorials installed between theBurn restoration of 1829–1833 and theChambers restoration of 1872–83 are now located in the north transept: these include white marble tablets commemorating Major GeneralRobert Henry Dick (died 1846);Patrick Robertson, Lord Robertson (died 1855); andAglionby Ross Carson (1856).[300][301] The largest of these memorials is a massive plaque surmounted by an urn designed byDavid Bryce to commemorate George Lorimer,Dean of Guild and hero of the 1865Theatre Royal fire (1867).[300][302]
William Chambers, who funded the restoration of 1872–83, commissioned the memorial plaque toWalter Chepman in the Chepman Aisle (1879): this was designed byWilliam Hay and produced byFrancis Skidmore.[281][303] Chambers himself is commemorated by a large plaque in a red marble frame (1894): located in the Chambers Aisle, this was designed byDavid MacGibbon with the bronze plaque produced byHamilton and Inches.[304]William Hay, the architect who oversaw the restoration (died 1888), is commemorated by a plaque in the north transept vestibule with arelief portrait byJohn Rhind.[300][305]
The first memorial installed after the Chambers restoration was a brass plaque dedicated to Dean James Hannay, the cleric whose reading ofCharles I's ScottishPrayer Book in 1637 sparked rioting (1882).[286][306] In response, andJohn Stuart Blackie andRobert Halliday Gunning supported a monument toJenny Geddes, who, according to tradition, threw a stool at Hannay. An 1885 plaque on the floor between south nave aisles now marks the putative spot of Geddes' action.[286][307] Other historical figures commemorated by plaques of this period includeAgnes Keith, Countess of Moray (1893);Robert Leighton (1883);Gavin Douglas (1883);Alexander Henderson (1883);William Carstares (1884); andJohn Craig (1883), andJames Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair (1906).[308]
The largest memorials of this period are theJacobean-style monuments toJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose in the Chepman Aisle (1888) and to his rival,Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, in the St Eloi Aisle (1895); both are executed inalabaster andmarble and take the form ofaedicules in which lie life-sizeeffigies of their dedicatees. The Montrose monument was designed byRobert Rowand Anderson and carved byJohn andWilliam Birnie Rhind. The Argyll monument, funded byRobert Halliday Gunning, was designed bySydney Mitchell and carved byCharles McBride.[309][310]
Other prominent memorials of this period include the Jacobean-style plaque on the south wall of the south choir aisle, commemoratingJohn Inglis, Lord Glencorse and designed byRobert Rowand Anderson (1892); the memorial toArthur Penrhyn Stanley (died 1881) in the Preston Aisle, including arelief portrait byMary Grant; and the large bronze relief ofRobert Louis Stevenson byAugustus Saint-Gaudens on the west wall of the Moray Aisle (1904).[309] A life-size bronze statue of John Knox byJames Pittendrigh MacGillivray (1906) stands in the north nave aisle. This initially stood in a Gothicniche in the east wall of the Albany Aisle; the niche was removed in 1951 and between 1965 and 1983, the statue stood outside the church, in Parliament Square.[311]
In the north choir aisle, the bronze plaque commemoratingSophia Jex-Blake (died 1912) and the stone plaque toJames Nicoll Ogilvie (1928) were designed byRobert Lorimer.[312] Lorimer himself is commemorated by a large stone plaque in the Preston Aisle (1932): this was designed by Alexander Paterson.[313] A number of plaques in the "Writers' Corner" in the Moray Aisle incorporaterelief portraits of their dedicatees: these include memorials toRobert Fergusson (1927) andMargaret Oliphant (1908), sculpted byJames Pittendrigh Macgillivray;John Brown (1924), sculpted byPilkington Jackson; andJohn Stuart Blackie (died 1895) andThomas Chalmers (died 1847), designed byRobert Lorimer.[281][314] Further relief portrait plaques commemorateRobert Inches (1922) in the former session house andWilliam Smith (1929) in the Chambers Aisle; the former was sculpted byHenry Snell Gamley.[315]Pilkington Jackson executed a pair of bronze relief portraits inpedimentedHopton Wood stone frames to commemorateCameron Lees (1931) andWallace Williamson (1936): these flank the entrance to theThistle Chapel in the south choir aisle.[300]
Modern sculptures include the memorial toWellesley Bailey in the south choir aisle, designed by James Simpson (1987) and Merilyn Smith'sbronze sculpture of a stool in the south nave aisle, commemoratingJenny Geddes (1992).[316] The most recent memorials are plaques byKindersley Cardozo Workshop ofCambridge commemoratingJames Young Simpson (1997) andRonald Colville, 2nd Baron Clydesmuir (2003) in the Moray Aisle and marking the 500th anniversary of theRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in the north choir aisle (2005).[317]
Victorian military memorials are concentrated at the west end of the church. The oldest military memorial isJohn Steell's memorial to members of the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot killed by disease inSindh between 1844 and 1845 (1850): this white marble tablet contains arelief of a mourning woman and is located on the west wall of the nave.[318] Nearby is the second-oldest military memorial,William Brodie'sIndian Rebellion of 1857 memorial for the93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot (1864): this depicts, in white marble, two Highland soldiers flanking a tomb.[319][320]
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John Rhind sculpted theRoyal Scots Greys'Sudan memorial (1886): a large brassCeltic cross on grey marble. John Rhind andWilliam Birnie Rhind sculpted theHighland Light Infantry'sSecond Boer War memorial: a marble-framed brass plaque. William Birnie Rhind andThomas Duncan Rhind sculpted theRoyal Scots 1st Battalion'sSecond Boer War memorial: a bronzerelief within apedimentedmarble frame (1903); WS Black designed the Royal Scots 3rd Battalion's Second Boer War memorial: a portrait marble plaque surmounted by an angel flanked byobelisks.[321]
TheElsie Inglis memorial in the north choir aisle was designed byFrank Mears and sculpted in rose-tinted French stone andslate byPilkington Jackson (1922): it depicts the angels ofFaith, Hope, and Love.[322] Jackson also executed theRoyal Scots 5th Battalion'sGallipoli Campaign memorial – bronze with a marble tablet (1921) – and the16th (McCrae's) Battalion's First World War memorial, showingSaint Michael and sculpted inPortland stone: this was designed byRobert Lorimer, who also designed the bronze memorial plaque to theRoyal Army Medical Corps in the north choir aisle.[300][323] Individual victims of the war commemorated in St Giles' includeNeil Primrose (1918) andSir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet (1917). Ministers and students of the Church of Scotland andUnited Free Church of Scotland are commemorated by a largeoak panel at the east end of the north nave aisle by Messrs Begg and Lorne Campbell (1920).[324]
Henry Snell Gamley is responsible for the congregation'sFirst World War memorial (1926): located in the Albany Aisle, this consists of a large bronzerelief of an angel crowning the "spirit of a soldier", its green marble tablet names the 99 members of the congregation killed in the conflict.[325] Gamley is also responsible for the nearby white marble and bronze tablet to Scottish soldiers killed in France (1920); the Royal Scots 9th Battalion's white marble memorial in the south nave aisle (1921); and the bronze relief portrait memorial to Edward Maxwell Salvesen in the north choir aisle (1918).[326]
The names of 38 members of the congregation killed in theSecond World War are inscribed on tablets designed byEsmé Gordon within a medieval tomb recess in the Albany Aisle: these were unveiled at the dedication of the Albany Aisle as a war memorial chapel in 1951. As part of this memorial, a cross with panels byElizabeth Dempster was mounted on the east wall of the Aisle.[63][249] Other notable memorials of the Second World War includeBasil Spence's large wooden plaque to the94th (City of Edinburgh) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (1954) in the north choir aisle and the nearbyChurch of Scotland chaplains memorial (1950): this depictsSaint Andrew inbronzerelief and was manufactured by Charles Henshaw.[300]
Prior to theReformation, St Giles' was furnished with as many as fifty stone subsidiary altars, each with their own furnishings and plate.[63][d] TheDean of Guild's accounts from the 16th century also indicate the church possessed anEaster sepulchre,sacrament house,rood loft,lectern,pulpit, woodenchandeliers, andchoir stalls.[2] On 16 December 1558, the goldsmithJames Mosman weighed and valued the treasures of St Giles' including the reliquary of the saint's arm bone with a diamond ring on his finger, a silver cross, and a ship for incense.[327] At the Reformation, the interior was stripped and a new pulpit at the east side of the crossing became the church's focal point. Seating was installed for children and the burgh's council and trade guilds and a stool of penitence was added. After the Reformation, St Giles' was gradually partitioned into smaller churches.[88]
At the church's restoration byWilliam Hay in 1872–83, the last post-Reformation internal partitions were removed and the church was oriented to face the communion table at the east end; the nave was furnished with chairs and the choir with stalls; a low railing separated the nave from the choir. TheBuildings of Scotland series described this arrangement as "HighPresbyterian (Low Anglican)". Most of the church's furnishings date from this restoration onwards. From 1982, the church was reoriented with seats in the choir and nave facing a central communion table under the crossing.[63]
Thepulpit dates to 1883 and was carved inCaen stone and greenmarble byJohn Rhind to a design byWilliam Hay. The pulpit is octagonal withrelief panels depicting theacts of mercy.[328] An octagonaloak pulpit of 1888 with a tallsteepledcanopy stands in the Moray Aisle: this was designed byRobert Rowand Anderson.[63] St Giles' possessed a wooden pulpit prior to theReformation. In April 1560, this was replaced with a wooden pulpit with two locking doors, likely located at the east side of thecrossing; a lectern was also installed.[329] Abrasseagle lectern stands on the south side of the crossing: this was given by an anonymous couple for use in the Moray Aisle.[330] Thebronze lectern steps were sculpted byJacqueline Stieger and donated in 1991 by theNormandy Veterans' Association.[331][332] Until 1982, aCaen stone lectern, designed byWilliam Hay stood opposite the pulpit at the west end of the choir.[333]
Situated in the crossing, thecommunion table is aCarrara marble block unveiled in 2011: it was donated byRoger Lindsay and designed by Luke Hughes. This replaced a wooden table in use since 1982.[334] The plain communion table used after theChambers restoration was donated to the West Parish Church ofStirling in 1910 and replaced by an oak communion table designed byRobert Lorimer and executed by Nathaniel Grieve. The table displays painted carvings of theLamb of God,Saint Giles, and angels; it was lengthened in 1953 by Scott Morton & Co. and now stands in the Preston Aisle.[335][336] The Albany Aisle contains aneo-Jacobean communion table by Whytock and Reid, which was installed at the time of the Aisle's dedication as a war memorial chapel in 1951.[63][249] A small communion table withCeltic knot and floral designs was added to the Preston Aisle in 2019; this was designed by Sheanna Ashton and made by Grassmarket Furniture.[337]
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The communion table andreredos of the Chambers Aisle were designed byRobert Lorimer andJohn Fraser Matthew in 1927–29. The reredos contains arelief of the adoration of the infant Christ by angels: this is the work ofMorris andAlice Meredith Williams.[63] In 1931, Matthew designed a reredos and communion table for the Moray Aisle; these were removed in 1981 and later sold to theNational Museum of Scotland.[338][339] A reredos in the form of aGothicarcade stood at the east end of the church from the Chambers restoration; this was designed byWilliam Hay and executed inCaen stone with greenmarble pillars. In 1953, this was replaced with a fabric reredos, designed byEsmé Gordon. The Gordon reredos was removed in 1971; the east wall is now bare.[340]
TheCaen stonefont byJohn Rhind is in the form of a kneeling angel holding ascallop; the font is an exact replica ofBertel Thorvaldsen's font for theChurch of Our Lady, Copenhagen. Initially, it stood near the pulpit before being moved to the west end of the south nave aisle; between 1916 and 1951, it stood in the Albany Aisle; it was then moved to near the west door and has stood in the north choir aisle since 2015.[63][341]
Since 2003, new chairs, many of which bear small brass plaques naming donors, have replaced chairs of the 1880s by West and Collier throughout the church.[342] Two banks ofchoir stalls in a semi-circular arrangement occupy the south transept; these were installed by Whytock & Reid in 1984. Whytock & Reid also providedbox pews for the nave in 1985; these have since been removed.[330] In 1552, prior to theReformation, Andrew Mansioun executed the south bank ofchoir stalls; the north bank were likely imported. In 1559, at the outset of theScottish Reformation, these were removed to theTolbooth for safe-keeping; they may have been re-used to furnish the church after the Reformation.[88][2]
There has been a royal loft orpew in St Giles' since the regency ofMary of Guise.[j] Standing between the south choir aisle and Preston Aisle, the current monarch's seat possess a tall back and canopy, on which stand theroyal arms of Scotland; this oak seat and desk were created in 1953 to designs ofEsmé Gordon and incorporate elements of the former royal pew of 1885 byWilliam Hay.[63][249] Hay's royal pew stood in the Preston Aisle; it replaced an oak royal pew of 1873, also designed by Hay and executed by John Taylor & Son: this was re-purposed as an internal west porch and was removed in 2008.[63][203]
The gates and railings of the Albany Aisle, the St Eloi Aisle, the Holy Blood Aisle, and the Chepman Aisle are the work ofFrancis Skidmore and date from the Chambers restoration. Skidmore also produced the chancel railing – now removed – and the iron screens at the east end of the north choir aisle: these originally surrounded the Moray Aisle.[343] The gates and font bracket in the Chambers Aisle are by Thomas Hadden and date from the aisle's designation as the Chapel of Youth in 1927–29.[63] The west door is surrounded by a metal and blue glass screen of 2008 by Leifur Breiðfjörð.[203]
The church is lit by stainless steel and aluminium chandeliers as well as by concealed strip lights below the windows. The chandeliers are designed to evokelilies and were produced between 2007 and 2008 by Lighting Design Partnership near Edinburgh; they replaced a concealed lighting system of 1958.[344] In 1882, during theChambers restoration,Francis Skidmore provided a set of gas chandeliers based on a chandelier inSt Mary Redcliffe, Bristol.[345] Electric lighting was installed in 1911 andRobert Lorimer designed new electric chandeliers; at their removal in 1958, some of these were donated to St John's Kirk,Perth andCleish Church.[346] A red glass "Lamp of Remembrance" by Thomas Hadden hangs in the Albany Aisle: its steel frame imitates St Giles'crown steeple. A lamp with stained glass panels byDouglas Strachan hangs in the Chambers Aisle.[63]
Plate in possession of the church includes four communion cups dated 1643 and twoflagons dated 1618 and given byGeorge Montaigne, thenBishop of Lincoln. Among the church's silver are two plates dated 1643 and aewer dated 1609.[347]
The current clock was manufactured byJames Ritchie & Son and installed in 1911; this replaced a clock of 1721 by Langley Bradley of London, which is now housed in theMuseum of Edinburgh.[348] A clock is recorded in 1491.[214] Between 1585 and 1721, the former clock ofLindores Abbey was used in St Giles'.[92]
The hour bell of the cathedral was cast in 1846 by theWhitechapel Bell Foundry, possibly from the metal of the medieval Great Bell, which had been taken down about 1774. The Great Bell was cast inFlanders in 1460 by John and William Hoerhen and bore thearms ofGuelderland and an image of theVirgin and Child.[k] Robert Maxwell cast the second bell in 1706 and the third in 1728: these chime thequarters, the latter bears thecoat of arms of Edinburgh.[274] Between 1700 and 1890, acarillon of 23 bells, manufactured in 1698 and 1699 by John Meikle, hung in the tower.[274][349]Daniel Defoe, who visited Edinburgh in 1727, praised the bells but added "they are heard much better at a distance than near at hand".[350] In 1955, an anonymouselder donated one of the carillon's bells: it hangs in a Gothic wooden frame next to the Chambers Aisle.[351] Nearby hangs the bell ofHMS Howe: this was presented in 1955 by theAdmiralty to mark the ship's connection to Edinburgh. The bell hangs in a frame topped by anaval crown: this was made fromHowe's deck timbers.[352] Thevesper bell of 1464 stands in the south nave aisle.[274][353]
From 1883,regimental colours were hung in the nave.[345] In 1982, theScottish Command of theBritish Army offered to catalogue and preserve the colours. The colours were removed from the nave and 29 were reinstated in the Moray Aisle.[330] Since 1953, thebanners of the currentknights of the Thistle have hung in the Preston Aisle, near the entrance to theThistle Chapel.[354] The banner ofDouglas Haig hangs in the Chambers Aisle; this was donated in 1928 by Lady Haig after her husband's lying-in-state in St Giles'.[178] A large wooden panel, showing thearms ofGeorge II hangs on the tower wall above at the west end of the choir: this is dated 1736 and was painted by Roderick Chalmers.[63][205]
The Fetternear Banner, the only surviving religious banner from pre-Reformation Scotland, was made around 1520 for the Confraternity of the Holy Blood, which had its altar in the Lauder Aisle. The banner, which depicts the woundedChrist and theinstruments of His passion, is held by theNational Museum of Scotland.[355]
St Giles' possesses one of the original copies of Scotland'sNational Covenant of 1638. The copy in St Giles' was signed by leadingCovenanters, includingJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose;John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes; andJohn Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis. The Covenant remained in the possession of the family of the Laird of Dundas until 1924, when it was purchased by Alexander Wallace and donated to St Giles' in 1926. It now stands in a plain oak frame in the Chepman Aisle.[356]
Located at the south-east corner of St Giles', the Thistle Chapel is the chapel of theOrder of the Thistle; it is accessed externally by the east door of the church and from the church itself by the south choir aisle.[357]
At the foundation of theOrder of the Thistle in 1687,James VII orderedHolyrood Abbey be fitted out as a chapel for the Knights. AtJames' deposition the following year, a mob destroyed the chapel's interior before the Knights ever met there. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, multiple proposals were made either to refurbish Holyrood Abbey for the Order of the Thistle or to create a chapel within St Giles' Cathedral. In 1906, after the sonsRonald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven donated £24,000 from their late father's estate,Edward VII ordered a new Chapel to be constructed on the south side of St Giles'.[358]
The Trustees appointed by the King to oversee the chapel's construction appointedRobert Lorimer as architect. The Trustees insisted the choice of craftspeople should reflect the national character of the chapel. Lorimer assembled a team of leading figures in the ScottishArts and Crafts movement, includingPhoebe Anna Traquair forenamelwork,Douglas Strachan forstained glass, Joseph Hayes for stonework, and the brothers William and Alexander Clow for woodwork.Louis Davis – who supplied stained glass – and theBromsgrove Guild – who suppliedbronze fittings – were the only major contributors based outside Scotland. Construction began in November 1909 and the chapel was completed a little over a year later. After its official opening in July 1911,George V knighted Lorimer for his work.[359] Through the continuing addition of stall plates,crests, andbanners for new knights and ladies, the chapel's tradition of craftsmanship persists to the present day. The knights and ladies of the Thistle meet in the Chapel at least once a year.[360]
Architectural critics have noted Lorimer's successful use of a limited site to create a soaring work ofGothic architecture, rich with architectural details. A number of critics have emphasised the chapel's importance as a product of theArts and Crafts movement, in which the collaborative craftsmanship of individual artisans defines the overall effect. Some critics have also emphasised the chapel's political role as an expression of Scottish patriotism,British imperialism, and monarchism.[283]
St Giles' holds three services every Sunday:
Every weekday a service is held at 12 noon.[361] Sunday morning service is also live-streamed from the St Giles' CathedralYouTube channel.[362]
Prior to theReformation, St Giles' used theSarum Use, withHigh Mass being celebrated at thehigh altar andLow Mass celebrated at the subsidiary altars. After the Reformation, services were conducted according to theBook of Common Order; unaccompanied congregation singing of thePsalms replaced choral and organ music and preaching replaced the Mass as the central focus of worship; public penance was also introduced.[363][364]Communion services were initially held three times a year; the congregation sat around trestle tables: a practice that continued until the 1870s.[365] The attempted replacement of the Book of Common Order by a Scottish version of theBook of Common Prayer on 23 July 1637 sparked rioting, which led to the signing of theNational Covenant.[366] From 1646, theDirectory for Public Worship was used. During theCommonwealth, the Directory fell out of use; public penance, psalm-singing, and Bible readings were removed from the service andlay preaching was introduced.[367] Between 1648 and 1655, the ministers withheld communion in protest.[368] During the second imposition ofepiscopacy underCharles II andJames VII the liturgy reverted to its post-Reformation form and there was no attempt to bring it into line with the practice of theChurch of England. By the beginning of the 18th century, the services of the Book of Common Order had been replaced by extempore prayers.[369]
Cameron Lees, minister between 1877 and 1911, was a leading figure in the liturgical revival among ScottishPresbyterian churches in the latter half of the 19th century. Lees used the Church Service Society'sEuchologion for communion services and compiled theSt Giles' Book of Common Order: this directed daily and Sunday services between 1884 and 1926.[370] Under Lees, Christmas, Easter, andWatchnight services were introduced. With financial support fromJohn Ritchie Findlay, daily service was also introduced for the first time since theCommonwealth.[371] Lees' successor,Andrew Wallace Williamson continued this revival and revised theSt Giles' Book of Common Order. A weekly communion service was introduced by Williamson's successor,Charles Warr.[372] The current pattern of four Sunday services, including two communions, was adopted in 1983 during the incumbency ofGilleasbuig Macmillan.[373] Macmillan introduced a number of changes to communion services, including the practice of communicants' gathering round the central communion table and passing elements to each other.[374]
Since the medieval period, St Giles' has hosted regular and occasional services of civic and national significance. Important annual services held in St Giles include the Edinburgh's civicRemembrance Sunday service, the Kirking of the council for thecity council, the Kirking of the Courts for the legal profession, the Thistle Service for theKnights of the Thistle; and a service during theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotland.[375] TheKirking of the Parliament has been held in St Giles' at the opening of every new session of theScottish Parliament since the Parliament's foundation in 1999; this revives an earlier service for theParliament of Scotland.[376][377]
St Giles' has also long enjoyed a close connection with the Scottish, then British royal families; the royalKnights of Thistle, includingthe Queen as Sovereign of the Order, attend the Thistle service in St Giles' every second year.[360] Since the regency ofMary of Guise, there has been a royal pew or loft in St Giles'.[378][j] Notable services for the royal family include theRequiem Mass forJames I (1437); the service to welcomeAnne of Denmark to Scotland (1590); divine service during thevisit of George IV (1822); andElizabeth II's receipt of theHonours of Scotland (1953).[380]
Significant occasional services in St Giles' include the memorial Mass for the dead ofFlodden (1513); thanksgivings for theScottish Reformation (1560), theUnion (1707), andVictory in Europe Day (1945); and the service to mark the opening of the firstEdinburgh International Festival (1947).[381][382][383][384] Recent occasional services have marked the return to Scotland of theStone of Scone (1996) and the opening of theNational Museum of Scotland (1998); a service of reconciliation after the2014 Scottish independence referendum was also held in St Giles'.[383][385]
St Giles' hosted the lyings-in-state ofElsie Inglis (1917) andDouglas Haig (1928).[386] Notable recent funerals include those ofRobin Cook (2005) andJohn Bellany (2013).[387][388] Notable recent weddings include the marriage ofChris Hoy to Sarra Kemp (2010).[389]
St Giles' Cathedral Choir is a mixed choir of 30 adults, directed by the Master of Music, Michael Harris. The Choir sings at the 10 am Communion and 11.30 am morning services on Sundays. The Choir first toured internationally, to the US, in 2004 and has since toured frequently in Europe and North America. The Choir has also appeared in television and radio broadcasts, includingChoral Evensong, and has released recordings on its own label,Aegidius.[390]
The current Choir was founded in 1879.[391] This revived a tradition of choral music at St Giles': until theReformation, a song school was attached to St Giles' where four officialchoristers were educated alongside other boys. The song school fell into disrepair after the departure of its master, John Fethy, in 1551; however, Edward Henderson oversaw its restoration in the years immediately preceding the Reformation.[392] After the Reformation, Henderson continued to teach music there as well as leading the unaccompanied congregational singing of psalms.[393]
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Thepipe organ was completed in 1992 and is located in the south transept: it was made byRieger Orgelbau and donated byAlastair Salvesen. Douglas Laird designed the case: it imitates the prow of a ship and uses red-stained Austrianoak along with decorativebronze and glass features. The organ has 4,156 pipes, most of which aretin. The Glocken is a ring of 37 bells made by theWhitechapel Bell Foundry.[394][395]
The current organ replaced aHarrison & Harrison organ of 1878, the first organ in the church since theReformation.[392] This organ initially possessed 2 manuals and 26 stops. Between 1872 and this organ's installation, aharmonium was used in services.[171] Harrison & Harrison rebuilt the organ in 1883 and 1887.Eustace Ingram rebuilt the organ as a 4 manual, 60 stop instrument in 1895. Ingram & Co rebuilt the organ in 1909 and overhauled it between 1936 and 1939.[396] The organ was reconstructed in 1940 byHenry Willis & Sons as a 4 manual, 74 stop instrument with a new console and an extra console in the Moray Aisle; a new case was designed byEsmé Gordon: this incorporated statues of angels andJubal byElizabeth Dempster.[397] The second console was removed in 1980 and Willis overhauled the organ in 1982. The organ was removed in 1990, some of the pipes were removed to theMcEwan Hall,Peebles Old Parish Church, and the Scottish Theatre Organ Preservation Trust; two were incorporated in the replacement organ; theconsole was donated to a church inPerth.[398][399]
Since 1996, Michael Harris has served as organist and Master of Music; he is assisted by Jordan English.[400] Since the insertion of the first post-Reformation organ in 1878, the following people have served as organist of St Giles':
The current minister of St Giles' is Calum MacLeod, who was translated fromFourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago in 2014; he replacedGilleasbuig Macmillan, who was appointed minister in 1973 and retired in 2013. The assistant minister is Craig Meek.[402][403][404] FromCameron Lees to Gilleasbuig Macmillan, every minister of St Giles' served asDean of the Thistle; Lees and his two successors,Andrew Wallace Williamson andCharles Warr, also served asDean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland.[405] In 1980, Helen Alexander was appointed assistant minister, becoming the first woman to minister in St Giles'.[406] Alongside the minister, St Giles' has aKirk Session of around 50elders.[383]
The firstvicar of St Giles' recorded by name is John, who appended his name to a charter ofHolyrood Abbey in 1241.[407] Three successive vicars of St Giles' in the 15th century – John Methven,Nicholas Otterbourne, and Thomas Bully – were noted churchmen who also held senior positions in the Scottish royal court.[408] In 1467, abull ofPope Paul II made St Giles' acollegiate church and replaced the role ofvicar with aprovost accompanied by acurate and sixteencanons. William Forbes, the last vicar of St Giles' was promoted as its first provost.[56][57] Forbes was succeeded byGavin Douglas, who completed hisMiddle Scots translation ofVirgil'sAeneid,Eneados, in 1513 while provost.[66]
In 1559,John Knox, leader of theScottish Reformation became the first Protestant minister of St Giles', serving intermittently until his death in 1572. Knox's successors were influential in opposing the religious reforms ofJames VI.[101] Though St Giles' had been partitioned into smaller churches, ministers were only allocated to specific churches after the division of Edinburgh into parishes in 1598.[27] Between 1633 and 1638 and again between 1661 and 1689, St Giles' served as the seat of thebishop of Edinburgh and was served by adean andprebendaries.[19] Notable ministers in St Giles' during the 18th century include the influentialCovenanter andWhig,William Carstares; theevangelical preacher,Alexander Webster; andHugh Blair, a leading figure of theScottish Enlightenment.[409][410]
The current parish of St Giles' (or the High Kirk) covers a portion of Edinburgh'sOld Town bounded by the railway,George IV Bridge, theCowgate, and St Mary's Street. Between 1641 and 1929, the High Kirk's parish covered the north side of theHigh Street.[411] From the medieval period until 1598, St Giles'parish covered the entireburgh ofEdinburgh. Prior to theReformation, St Giles' was within theDeanery ofLinlithgow in theArchdiocese of St Andrews.[43]
Between 1561 and 1564, the west of thenave was partitioned: the upper floor served as a place of worship and the ground floor served as an extension to theTolbooth. Around 1581, thechoir was partitioned off to create the New or East Kirk, leaving thecrossing,transepts, and the remainder of the nave to form Middle St Giles' or the Old or Great Kirk.[100][412] Edinburgh's ministers alternated freely between these churches until 1598, when thePrivy Council of Scotland ordered the following division of Edinburgh into four parishes, each with two ministers:
In 1620, the South West congregation moved to the newly builtGreyfriars Kirk; the Upper Tolbooth partition remained unoccupied until 1634. In 1625, the Privy Council ordered the following rearrangement of these divisions; it is not, however, clear whether this was ever enforced:
In 1633, St Giles' became a cathedral and the partition between the Old and New Kirks was removed, the South East congregation moved to Upper Tolbooth, then occupied the Old Kirk between 1639 and 1647, when it moved to theTron Kirk; during this period, the Old Kirk congregation occupiedParliament Hall.[413] In 1641, a division of Edinburgh into six parishes was made; the following parishes were allocated to St Giles':
In 1699, the congregation of theNew North Meeting House on theLawnmarket occupied the northern half of the Tolbooth partition, after which it was named "Haddo's Hole Kirk".[414] The Tolbooth Kirk vacated St Giles' in 1843; the Old Kirk was suppressed in 1860[g] and the Haddo's Hole congregation – by then known as West St Giles' – vacated St Giles' in 1881 to allow the removal of the internal partitions.[m] Since 1883, the High Kirk congregation has occupied the entire church.[417]
"They had nearly all been in St Giles' with its tattered blood-stained banners of the past. Sandy had not been there, and did not want to go. The outsides of old Edinburgh churches frightened her, they were of such dark stone, like presences almost the colour of the Castle rock, and were built so warningly with their upraised fingers."[418]
The real-life escape of condemned smuggler, George Robertson, from the Tolbooth Kirk during divine service in 1736 is fictionalised inThe Heart of Midlothian byWalter Scott (1818).[419]
St Giles' is referenced twice inThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie byMuriel Spark (1961): first as a location the title character and her "set" of pupils pass by on a walk around Edinburgh and again as one of the "emblems of a dark and terrible salvation" contemplated by the protagonist, Sandy Stranger.[420]
InDisorderly Knights (1966), the fourth book ofDorothy Dunnett'sLymond Chronicles series, the protagonist, Sir Francis Crawford of Lymond, swears an oath in the Lauder Aisle of St Giles' and duels with Sir Graham Reid Malett on the steps of the church's high altar.[421]
InAvengers: Infinity War (2018), St Giles' features as one of the locations of a fight between the heroes andThanos'Black Order. The scenes were filmed around the cathedral in spring 2017.[422]
The coffin will be moved from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to the Houses of Parliament to lie in state until the funeral at Westminster Abbey on Sept. 19.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
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