St. Giles' Cathedral

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St. Giles' Cathedral

A prominent feature of the Edinburgh skyline, St. Giles' Cathedral or the High Kirk of Edinburgh decorates the midpoint of the Royal Mile with its rounded hollow-crown tower.

The cathedral has been at Edinburgh's religious focal point for at least 900 years. Today it is often regarded as the mother church of Presbyterianism; since the Church of Scotland became Presbyterian in the 17th century, St. Giles' is no longer a cathedral in the technical sense, although the name survives colloquially along with the "High Kirk" label which it uses more formally. It is the Church of Scotland parish church for part of Edinburgh's Old Town. Four services are held every Sunday, as well as daily services and special services for state and civic occasions. The current minister (since 1973) of St. Giles' is the Very Reverend Dr Gilleasbuig I. Macmillan.

As the name implies, it is dedicated to St. Giles, who was the patron saint of cripples and lepers and a very popular saint in the Middle Ages. The oldest parts of the building are four massive central pillars, dating from 1120. Over the years many chapels have been added and by the middle of the sixteenth century (before the Reformation) there were about fifty altars in the church.

St. Giles’ stained glass windows are amongst the most impressive in Scotland. The most well known windows include the: Victorian Windows, Burne-Jones Window, North Window, and the Burns Window. The Victorian windows were commissioned by Sir William Chambers, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, who spearhead the restoration of St. Giles in 1872. Until this time St. Giles consisted of several churches within the main edifice; the restoration moved to unify them. The cost of the stained glass windows were underwritten by the Lord Provost and other donors. The Edinburgh firm of Ballantine & Son was commissioned for the work. The windows form a continuous narrative over seven windows starting in north east corner and finishing on the north-west side. One of the last windows of this plan depicts St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, holding his cross with, on either side of him, St. Columbus and King David (erroneously labeled St. David). St. Andrew wears a flowing peacock blue cassock and his features are modeled after prominent Edinburgh physician James Jamieson. Unusually, this window was funded by a grateful patient who insisted that St. Andrew bore the features of the good doctor. Below St. Andrew are depicted St. Giles, with his hind, and St. Cuthbert. The dedication beneath the St. Andrew window states: James Jamieson Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh and Elder of the Kirk, born 1841, in Bowden, and died 1903.

The Thistle Chapel (1911, by Robert Lorimer) is the chapel of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Scotland's foremost Order of Chivalry. It is a small, but exquisite, chapel with carved and painted fittings of extraordinary detail. The Order, which was founded by James VII in 1687, consists of the monarch and 16 knights. The knights are the personal appointment of the crown, and are normally Scots who have made a significant contribution to national or international affairs. Knights have included Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Lord Mackay of Clashfern and the Duke of Buccleuch.

On Sunday 23 July 1637 efforts by King Charles I to impose Anglican services on the Church of Scotland led to the Book of Common Prayer revised for Scottish use being introduced in St Giles'. Rioting in opposition began when Dean John Hanna began to read from the new Book of Prayer, legendarily initiated by the market-woman or street-seller Jenny Geddes throwing her stool at his head. The disturbances led to the National Covenant and hence the Bishops' Wars; the first part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which included the English Civil War. In the late 17th century a carillon was made for the cathedral by James Meikle. On the day in 1707 that the Treaty of Union was signed to merge the Parliament of Scotland with the Parliament of England and create the Kingdom of Great Britain, the carilloner in St Giles rang the bells in the tune Why should I be so sad on my wedding day? Notes by John Purser to CD Scotland's Music, [Facts about Edinburgh].

Its many monuments and memorials, as well as its sheer size and location, has made it a very popular tourist attraction, drawing special notice during the annual Edinburgh Festival, which centres on the Royal Mile.

St Giles' Cathedral on the Edinburgh Old Town skyline

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