Duddingston Kirk

Coordinates: 55°56′28.22″N 3°8′56.82″W / 55.9411722°N 3.1491167°W / 55.9411722; -3.1491167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Duddingston Kirk
Duddingston Kirk from the north-east
The memorial window to Joan Carfrae Pinkerton by Douglas Strachan
Memorial window to Rev John Thomson, Duddingston Kirk

Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, located adjacent to Holyrood Park in Duddingston Village, on the east side of the City of Edinburgh. Regular services are held at the kirk, conducted by the minister, Rev Dr James A. P. Jack (from 2001).

History

Cassel identifies the building as being Anglo-Saxon (i.e. pre Norman conquest).[1]

The church was built in or around 1124 by Dodin, a Norman knight, on land granted to Kelso Abbey by King David I of Scotland. As originally built, the kirk consisted of the chancel, nave and square tower. The traditional pattern of an east–west axis was adopted. The original entrance on the south wall includes a particularly fine example of Scoto-Norman stone carving, with a round-topped doorway. Following the enlargement of the parish boundaries, the Prestonfield Aisle was added in 1631. This consists of a gallery, downstairs area and burial vaults were on the north side. In 1968 the kirk's interior was reconditioned, with the former pipe organ removed.

The entrance to the kirkyard from Duddingston village is notable for its gatehouse, built as a lookout point to deter "bodysnatchers" in the early 19th century. The Edinburgh bodysnatchers, known as "resurrectionists", stole recently buried corpses to sell to anatomists, and, as in the notorious case of

Burke and Hare
, sometimes also resorted to murder.

Given its proximity to central Edinburgh, Duddingston has long been a favourite location for many of the city's artists and professionals. The novelist

Walter Scott was ordained an elder at Duddingston in 1806.[2]

The kirk has also been used as a venue during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[3]

Ministers

A famous and widely admired minister in the early 19th century (1805–1840) was the

We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns
". [Note the plaque opposite the church.)

He was replaced in 1841 by

FRSE DD (1808-1866), who was Moderator of the General Assembly
in 1865.

The succession of ministers since the Reformation was:

Stained glass

The north triple window in the gallery is dedicated to Joan Carfrae, wife of the famous detective, Allan Pinkerton, who was born in Duddingston in 1822 and died in Chicago in 1887. The window is designed by Douglas Strachan.

The stained glass immediately east of the pulpit commemorates Dr Stevenson Macadam, an elder in the church.

Duddingston Kirkyard

Notable burials and memorials include:

See also

References

  1. ^ Cassells Old and New Edinburgh vol.2 Ch.31
  2. ^ "Duddingston Kirk – History and Buildings". Duddingston Kirk – Home. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Duddingston Kirk". Edinburgh Guide. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  4. ^ Williamsons Street Directory 1784
  5. ^ Cassells Old and New Edinburgh vol.2 Ch.31

External links

55°56′28.22″N 3°8′56.82″W / 55.9411722°N 3.1491167°W / 55.9411722; -3.1491167

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duddingston_Kirk&oldid=1215832236"