St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland Vertical Panorama

The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, commonly known as St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. Its foundation stone was laid in Palmerston Place, in the city's West End, on 21 May 1874 by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, and the building was consecrated on 30 October 1879. St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral is the see of the

Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St Andrews, under the Archbishop of St Andrews a ...

, one of seven bishops within the Scottish Episcopal Church which is part of the worldwide

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. It was designed in a Victorian

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by architect Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

. It has attained Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

status, and is part of the Old Town and New Town of Edinburgh

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. The cathedral is one of only three in the United Kingdom that feature three spires, the other two being

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

and

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

cathedrals. The main spire is tall, making the building the tallest in the Edinburgh urban area. The other two spires were completed in 1917. The Song School and the Chapter House were also added in later years.

History

The grave of Barbara and Mary Walker, Greyfriars Kirkyard

In 1689, following the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

was restored in place of

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the national

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

. This led to the emergence of the

as a separate Christian denomination. Edinburgh's historic

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 1 ...

was raised to cathedral status in 1633, the seat of the newly established Bishop of Edinburgh. However the rejection of episcopacy saw the cathedral converted to Presbyterian use. For a time the Episcopal residue of that congregation worshipped in an old woollen mill in Carrubber's Close, near the site of the present Old St Paul's Church. This was used as a

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...

until the early 19th century, when this function was served by the Church of St Paul (now

St Paul's and St George's Church St Paul's and St George's Church (known colloquially as "Ps and Gs") is an evangelical church of the Scottish Episcopal Church in central Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the corner of Broughton Street and York Place in the east end of Edi ...

) in York Place. A bequest by Barbara and Mary Walker left the cathedral's site in Edinburgh's West End to the Episcopal Church alongside an endowment allowing for the building of a cathedral dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. The sisters owned the surrounding Drumsheugh Estate and lived in Easter Coates House, which survives to the north of the cathedral. They were the granddaughters of the Rev. George Walker, the Episcopal minister of Oldmeldrum Church (1734–1781). Their father, William Walker, was Attorney in Exchequer, and Bearer of the White Rod of Scotland; their mother was Mary Drummond, daughter of

George Drummond George Drummond (1688–1766) was accountant-general of excise in Scotland and a local politician, elected Lord Provost of Edinburgh a number of times between 1725 and 1764. Life Drummond was born at Newton Castle in Blairgowrie, Perthshire ...

, six times

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the ...

and initiator of the New Town. William Walker bought the Coates estate from the Byres family around 1800 and is remembered in the street names William Street and Walker Street round the corner from Manor Place.

Design and construction

The cathedral was designed by Sir

and the foundation stone was laid on 21 May 1874 by the

Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry Duke of Buccleuch (pronounced ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Co ...

, whose family had been supportive of Scottish episcopacy over the previous hundred years. Inside the stone was placed a bottle containing a copy of the trust deed, the Edinburgh Post Office Directory, ''Oliver and Boyd's Almanac'', newspapers and coins. The cathedral's builder was G. W. Booth and the clerk of works was Edwin Morgan. St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral has four main doors: the west, east, north and south doors. The cathedral's main entrance is the ornate west entrance, from Palmerston Place, which features

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

and the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. In preparation for the opening of the cathedral a congregation had been formed to worship in a temporary iron church erected on the site now occupied by the Song School. Beginning on 26 May 1876, it was ministered to by the dean, James Montgomery, and two chaplains, and grew rapidly. The nave of the cathedral was opened on 25 January 1879 and from that day, daily services have been held in the cathedral. The cathedral was consecrated on 30 October 1879 in the presence of about 200 clergy from around the country. The twin spires at the west end, known as "Barbara" and "Mary" after the Walker sisters, were not begun until 1913 and completed in 1917. The architect for these was

Charles Marriott Oldrid Scott Charles Marriott Oldrid Scott (1880 – 1952) was an English architect who is often best remembered for being the son of John Oldrid Scott and grandson of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott), both of whom were architects, as was his uncle G ...

, Sir George's grandson. The

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for e ...

is designed by

John Oldrid Scott John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect. Biography He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles G ...

and sculpted by Mary Grant. The critic Sacheverell Sitwell condemned the design as "peerless for ugliness, unless it be for its own sister, Scott's chapel of St John's, at Cambridge".

Music

Choral services

St Mary's Cathedral is the only cathedral in Scotland to maintain a tradition of daily choral services, for most of the year, with choristers drawn from its own choir school. It was the first cathedral in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

to employ girls in the treble line as well as boys, in 1978, when

Dennis Townhill Dennis William Townhill (29 May 1925 – 18 July 2008) was an English organist and composer. Born in Lincoln, he was educated at Lincoln School and studied under Dr Gordon Archbold Slater at Lincoln Cathedral. Townhill composed a set of re ...

was organist and choir master. In 2005, St Mary's Cathedral became the first cathedral in the

tradition to have a female

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian ( Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruse ...

singing in daily services.

Song School

The Song School was built in 1885. It was designed by John Oldrid Scott. It provided St Mary's choir with a rehearsal space which the choir use for their daily practice. It houses a second Father Willis organ (1829). The Song School walls are ornately decorated by the Irish-born artist

Phoebe Anna Traquair Phoebe Anna Traquair (; 24 May 1852 – 4 August 1936) was an Irish-born artist, who achieved international recognition for her role in the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland, as an illustrator, painter and embroiderer. Her works included lar ...

. Guided tours of the Song School are available, at certain times during the year.

St Mary's Music School and choir

St Mary's Music School was founded to educate its choirboys. It continues to educate choristers of the cathedral and is now a separate specialist music school open to all pupils.

Bells

There are ten original bells in the central tower of the cathedral hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

, with two further bells which have been added more recently. They were the gift of the first dean of St Mary's, James F. Montgomery. The bells were all cast by John Taylor & Co. of

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

to weight ratios defined by Lord Grimthorpe who was a leading bell designer of his day. This is one of only a few complete Grimthorpe rings still in existence. The tenor bell weighs 41 cwt. The bells were dedicated on 29 October 1879. “There is a tradition of the Bell Ringers’ prayer before they begin ringing the bells that sound out over the city of Edinburgh. The bells in our tower are individually named after virtues, and the prayer is that these virtues will ring out and flourish in the city's streets, including faith, humility, reverence, hope, peace, justice, love. We are called to care not just for our own families, and for our Cathedral community, but for the place in which we live.” Revd Janet Spence ~ The Chaplain

Festival Fringe venue

St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral (Venue 91) hosts classical concerts, coffee concerts, lunchtime recitals, art events and exhibitions, during the annual

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. St Mary's also has an active calendar of concerts, charity concerts, events and exhibitions throughout the year.

Organists

*1878 Thomas Henry Collinson *1929 Robert Head *1958 Eric Parsons *1961

*1991 Timothy Byram-Wigfield *1999 Matthew Owens *2005 Simon Nieminski *2007 (to current day) Duncan Ferguson (Master of Music & Organist) *2021 (to current day) Imogen Morgan (Assistant Master of Music & Organist)

Provosts of the cathedral

The provost in the Scottish Episcopalian church is the senior priest of the cathedral, with responsibility for the mother church of the diocese. When the bishop officiates, the provost is assistant priest. They are formally addressed as ''The Very Reverend'' and more informally as Provost '''' or simply ''.'' * 1879–1897 James Montgomery * 1897–1919 John Wilson * 1920–1925 Edward Henderson * 1925–1938 William Margetson * 1938–1939

Logie Danson Ernest Denny Logie Danson (14 June 18809 December 1946) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Biography He was born into a distinguished clerical family — his father was Myers Danson, Dean of Aberdeen and Orkney — ...

* 1940–1944 David Dunlop * 1944–1949

Ivor Ramsay Ivor Erskine St Clair Ramsay (1 November 1902 – 22 January 1956) was an eminent Anglican priest in the middle part of the 20th century. He was born on 1 November 1902 and educated at Ardvreck School, Uppingham and Glasgow University. He w ...

* 1949–1956 Hector Gooderham * 1957–1967

Reginald Foskett Reginald Foskett (1909 – 13 November 1973) was the fourth Anglican Bishop of Penrith in the modern era. Born in 1909 he was educated at Derby School and Keble College, Oxford and ordained priest in 1933. After Curacies at Gedling and Ma ...

* 1967–1970 Patrick Rodger * 1970–1990 Philip Crosfield * 1990–2017 Graham Forbes * September 2017 (to current day) John Conway

Objects of interest

Memorials

James F Montgomery effigy, St Mary's Cathedral

* Captain

James Dundas James Dundas VC (10 September 1842 – 23 December 1879) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Ea ...

V.C. (1842–1879) * General Sir Alexander Frank

Philip Christison General Sir Alexander Frank Philip Christison, 4th Baronet, (17 November 1893 – 21 December 1993) was a British Army officer who served with distinction during the world wars. After service as a junior officer on the Western Front in the Fir ...

Bt. (1893–1993), erected by the

Burma Star The Burma Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Pacific, was ...

Association * Soldiers of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

killed overseas 1857–1870 * Reclining marble effigy of James Francis Montgomery (1902) by James Pittendrigh Macgillivray. * Barbara and Mary Walker, the philanthropists who funded the church (see above) The war memorial is by Pilkington Jackson (1920).

Rood cross

The Lorimer rood cross was designed as part of the National War Memorial, and completed by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

in 1922. It is positioned high aloft the nave altar, unmissable as eyes lift to view the high altar, or the east lancet windows beyond. It is a striking figure of Christ crucified on a background of Flanders poppies and decorated with golden winged angels.

Walter Scott's pew

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

’s pew moved to the cathedral in 2006. Its first location was in St George's Church on York Place and was then moved in 1932 to St Paul's Church across the road when the two congregations amalgamated, and the latter building became St Paul's and St George's. Raised a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

in the Church of Scotland where he was ordained as an elder, in adult life he also adhered to the doctrine of the

Paolozzi’s ‘Millennium Window’

St-Mary's-Cathedral-Paolozzi-Window-Light

The cathedral is home to a stained-glass window reworked as an artwork in the Modern Art genre for year 2000 by

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March ...

who was born in Leith. The glasswork consists of a large rose window with three lancet windows below, in vibrant colours of glass which are designed to project onto stonework inside the cathedral on bright days. It is visible from the south side of St Mary's from Bishop's Walk but is best viewed from inside with the light behind, from either the Resurrection Chapel on the south side, or beside the ornate wooden casing and pipework of St Mary's ‘Father Willis’ organ on the north side.

Prayer labyrinth

The south grounds of the cathedral are accessed from Bishop's Walk or from the south doors in the Resurrection Chapel when these stand open. A prayer labyrinth designed by artists connected with the cathedral has been carved and sown with wild flowers, with help from others in the congregation of St Mary's. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth is a single continuous route, from entry point to centre. The prayer labyrinth frees you to think your own thoughts or prayers for others, as you follow the path, edged by wild flowers; to attract insects.

Gallery

File:St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral during Edinburgh Festival.jpg, The high altar in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, during the Edinburgh Festival (Venue 91). File:St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral - Lady Chapel.jpg, The Lady Chapel; used for small daily services and for anyone to use for their own private thoughts and prayers. File:Reredos in St Marys Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.JPG, The ornate

at the high altar, depicting centrally the scene around the Cross at Calvary. File:Edinburgh - St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh - 20140426184757.jpg, Main West entrance, Palmerston Place; St Peter holds the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. File:A Capella Amphores - The Cathedral Collection 2016.jpg, Free blown 7 cold worked glass. Gold leaf & steel. Baldwin and Guggisberg.

art of Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...

The Cathedral Collection 2016. Gifted to the cathedral; on permanent display. File:Stained glass window in the South wall of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral.jpg, Stained glass window in the south wall of the cathedral; within the Lady Chapel. File:Gargoyle at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral.jpg, One of the many gargoyles and grotesques at the cathedral. File:St Mary’s Cathedral Prayer Labyrinth.jpg, The prayer labyrinth in the cathedral's South Gardens.

Links of further interest

Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, styled "The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church", is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The current Primus is the Most Revd. Mark Strange who became primus on ...

Diocese * Dean of Edinburgh Diocese, Frances Burberry *

Diocese of Edinburgh The Diocese of Edinburgh is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the City of Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Borders and Falkirk. The diocesan centre is St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. The Bishop of Edinburgh i ...

List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom NK = Not known See also * List of Anglican churches in the United Kingdom *List of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom A list of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom, notable current and former individual church buildings and congr ...

St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Roman Catholic) The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, also known as St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh and the mother church ...

is the Roman Catholic cathedral of similar name, but situated at the East End of Edinburgh.

References

Sources

Notes

External links

St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral website

{{Edinburgh Festival Fringe Christianity in Edinburgh

Mary's Cathedral (Episcopal) Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed cathedrals in Scotland George Gilbert Scott buildings