St Giles' Church is a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

church situated in the centre of

Elgin, Moray Elgin ( ; ; ) is a historic town (former cathedral city) and formerly a royal burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above th ...

, in north-east

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is Elgin's original parish church. The current building was built between 1825 and 1828 and designed in a

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style by architect

Archibald Simpson Archibald Simpson (4 May 1790 – 23 March 1847) was a Scottish architect, who along with his rival John Smith, is regarded as having fashioned the character of Aberdeen as "The Granite City".Simpson, William Douglas, (1947) ''The Archibald ...

. It has been a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

since 1971. St Giles Kirk Elgin

The first record of a church on the site is a charter from

William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

, dating from between 1187 and 1189, granting St Giles' to the

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Mor ...

, though the discovery of the 9th century Elgin Pillar in the area of the churchyard in 1823 suggests that the medieval church may have had a much earlier predecessor. St Giles' was restored after being burned by Alexander Stewart, the "Wolf of Badenoch", in 1390. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was rebuilt after its vaulted stone roof collapsed in 1679. Burials in the churchyard ceased in the early 17th century. Cartloads of human bones were removed in 1826, either transferred to the graveyard of

Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral, a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, northeast Scotland, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II of Scotland, Alexander II and stood outside the burgh of Elgin, close to ...

or mixed with soil and spread on fields around the burgh, while gravestones were used to pave the High Street.

References

Bibliography

External links

* Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Giles' Church, Elgin Protestant churches converted from Roman Catholicism Rebuilt churches in Scotland Churches completed in 1828 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Church of Scotland churches in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Moray Listed churches in Scotland Churches in Moray Archibald Simpson buildings