- Kirk of the Canongate
The Kirk of the Canongate - or Canongate Kirk - serves the
Parish ofCanongate inEdinburgh 's Old Town, inScotland . It is a of theChurch of Scotland . The parish includes thePalace of Holyroodhouse and theScottish Parliament . It is also the parish church ofEdinburgh Castle , even though the Castle is detached from the rest of the parish.Canongate
The Canongate was a separate
burgh before it was formally absorbed byEdinburgh in 1856. By the late 1970s, the lower part of theRoyal Mile , including the Canongate, had become unfashionable and run down. The local population was declining. The Kirk was threatened with closure, which was successfully resisted by the minister and congregation. Since then, circumstances have changed radically - notably with the construction of new flats in the vicinity as well as the newScottish Parliament building.The building and kirkyard
The Kirk was built in 1691 by James Smith. Previously the residents of the Canongate had used the Abbey Church of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, but King James VII ordered the construction of the new Kirk of the Canongate, allowing the (now ruined) Abbey Church to be converted into a Chapel for the
Order of the Thistle . (The current Thistle Chapel is attached toSt Giles' Cathedral ).Architecturally, the Kirk has a Dutch-style end gable and a curious, small doric-columned portico over the entrance. Although outwardly rectangular, the Kirk's interior has a cruciform layout (highly unusual for a post-Reformation, pre-Victorian Church of Scotland building). The Kirk's interior was extensively remodelled in 1882, with the inclusion of a pipe organ and a central pulpit. These unsympathetic alterations were removed in the early 1950s, along with the galleries. The resulting reordering considerably increased the levels of light; the original dignified simplicity of the Kirk was able to be appreciated once more. The Kirk was further restored in 1991 by the Stewart Todd partnership, followed by the installation of a new Danish-built Frobenius
pipe organ in 1998, in memory of the late Very Rev Dr Ronald Selby Wright. This was the 1000th organ to be built by the Frobenius company.Following the
Disruption of 1843 , a Holyrood Free Church congregation was formed. A church was built in front of thePalace of Holyroodhouse , but the building was closed in 1915 (when that congregation united with Abbeyhill United Free Church, becomingHolyrood Abbey Church, located in Dalziel Place.) The former Holyrood Free Church building was reopened as "The Queen's Gallery" in 2003, to house exhibitions from theRoyal Collection .The kirkyard is the resting place of several Edinburgh notables including the economist
Adam Smith , the philosopher and Smith's biographerDugald Stewart , Agnes Maclehose (the "Clarinda" of Robert Burns),David Rizzio , the murdered private secretary ofMary, Queen of Scots , and the poetRobert Fergusson , whose statue in bronze by David Annand stands outside the kirk gate.Current work
The Kirk is in regular use for Sunday services, as well as for concerts. The Kirk is extensively used as a venue for music during the annual
Edinburgh Festival , as is the Kirk's nearby hall - the "Harry Younger Hall" (which is known as "Venue 13" for the duration of the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe; Venue 13 is run jointly by theRoyal Welsh College of Music & Drama and theRoyal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama ). The Kirk was previously the regimental chapel ofThe Royal Scots Regiment of the British Army and is now the regimental chapel ofThe Royal Regiment of Scotland .Ministry
Canongate Kirk has been served by several well-known former ministers, two having also served as
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . Thomas Wilkie was twice Moderator - in 1701 and 1704. The Very Reverend DrRonald Selby Wright , known as the "Radio Padre" for his famous wartime broadcasts, was minister from 1937 until 1977 and served as Moderator in 1972. Whilst Dr Selby Wright was away on wartime service as an Army Chaplain, the RevdGeorge MacLeod (later the Very Revd Lord MacLeod of Fuinary, founder of theIona Community and Moderator in 1957) served as locum. Dr Selby Wright was succeeded as minister by the Reverend Charles Robertson LVO MA, who retired in 2005.The current minister (since 22nd June 2006) is the Reverend Neil N. Gardner MA BD (who was previously minister at
Alyth and an Army Chaplain in theBlack Watch Regiment).ee also
*
Church of Scotland
*List of Church of Scotland parishes
*The Skating Minister External links
* [http://www.canongatekirk.com/ Canongate Kirk]
* [http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/ Church of Scotland]
* [http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/canongatekirk/ Canongate Kirk on "Undiscovered Scotland" (with photographs)]
* [http://heritage.scotsman.com/people.cfm?id=1966172005 The Revd Charles Robertson retires - "Edinburgh Evening News", 20 Sept 2005]
* [http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=586022006 Profile of the Revd Neil Gardner - "Edinburgh Evening News", 18 April 2006]
* [http://www.venue13.com Venue 13 (The Harry Younger Hall)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3576004.stm Venue 13 (BBC Wales news)]
* [http://www.frobenius.nu/main/uddybende.html Canongate Kirk's pipe organ - Th. Frobenius og Sønner Orgelbyggeri A/S "(in Danish)"]
* [http://www.scotcities.com/capital.htm Edinburgh Architecture - The Royal Mile (with original drawing of Canongate Kirk)]
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