Barclay Bruntsfield Church spire, Edinburgh

The church halls of Barclay Viewforth Church

Barclay Viewforth Church is a parish church of the

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 ...

in the

Presbytery of Edinburgh The Presbytery of Edinburgh was one of the presbyteries of the Church of Scotland, being the local presbytery for Edinburgh.Church of Scotland Yearbook, 2010-2011 edition, Its boundary was almost identical to that of the City of Edinburgh Counci ...

History

Located at the border between the

Bruntsfield Bruntsfield is a largely residential area around Bruntsfield Place in Southern Edinburgh, Scotland. In feudal times, it fell within the barony of Colinton. Location Bruntsfield Place is less than south on the A702 main road from the West e ...

and Tollcross areas of the city at the junction of Barclay Place and Wright's Houses, it was designed by

Frederick Thomas Pilkington Frederick Thomas Pilkington (1832-1898), pupil of his father, was a "Rogue" British architect, practising in the Victorian High Gothic revival style. He designed mostly churches and institutional buildings in Scotland. Typical of his work is t ...

(1832–98) – starting in 1862 and completed in 1864 – mainly from a bequest of £10,000 left by Miss Mary Barclay of Carlton Terrace for the building of a church for the Free Church of Scotland. The first minister of the congregation was Rev Dr James Hood Wilson, DD, the first service of public worship being held on 23 December 1864. He served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

of the Free Church of Scotland in 1895. Wilson was replaced by Rev Dr William Macallum Clow in 1897. The church remained part of the Free Church of Scotland until 1900 when the majority of the Free Church and the

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland The United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the Uni ...

united to form the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

, and subsequently joined the Church of Scotland in 1929 when the majority of the United Free Church joined the Church of Scotland. Barclay Church united with Bruntsfield Church (Leamington Terrace) in 1965. The Bruntsfield Church building is now used by an independent church and is known as Bruntsfield Evangelical Church. The church was renamed as "Barclay-Bruntsfield Church" until 1980 when it reverted to its original name after united with Chalmers-Lauriston Church (59-61 Lauriston Place). Chalmers-Lauriston Church was purchased by the City of Edinburgh Council and sold to the Arab Social League for use as a cultural centre, but has remained derelict until the late 2010s when it was converted to a Mosque. Barclay united with Viewforth Church in 2009. Other churches which have been subsumed into the parish of Barclay Viewforth through earlier unions include West Port Church. It is currently in a Parish Grouping with St Catherine's-Argyle Parish Church in

Marchmont Marchmont is a mainly residential area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies roughly one mile to the south of the Old Town, separated from it by The Meadows and Bruntsfield Links. To the west it is bounded by Bruntsfield; to the south-southwest ...

. The Barclay Viewforth Church also hosts th
Edinburgh Chinese Christian Church
a Chinese church consisting of a

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

-speaking congregation.

Architecture

The Church, along with the Halls and Church Officer's House at the rear, are category A

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

. The spire, which at high is a landmark in the city skyline, is one of the tallest church spires in Edinburgh. Internally, the church has seating on the ground floor with two tiers of galleries in the heart shaped auditorium, which originally had seating for 1,200. The organ was installed in 1896 by R. Hope-Jones and has been twice rebuilt. The marble pulpit (also by Pilkington) holds a prominent location under the organ pipes with a central view over the nave. The church halls to the east were skillfully added in 1891. They are designed by Sydney Mitchell in a complementary style to Pilkington's original and built in matching stone.''Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh''; by John Gifford, Colin McWilliam, David Walker

References

External links

Barclay Viewforth Church of Scotland Website
{{coord, 55, 56, 25.71, N, 3, 12, 12.51, W, display=title Barclay Viewforth Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Churches completed in 1864 1864 establishments in Scotland

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links