Dirleton Kirk tower including the ancient stair tower on north

Dirleton Kirk is a church in the village of Dirleton, in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The church (at ) is to the north of the village green. Dirleton lies on the south shore of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

21 miles east of

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 ...

and two miles west of

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...

, slightly north of the A198 road.

Early Christianity in the Parish now known as Dirleton

Ruined St. Andrews Kirk, Gullane Before 1612, the parish church was the 12th century St. Andrews Church at Gullane, or Golyn as it was then named. A cell of

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

nuns was believed to be active near the old church at Gullane in the 12th century while another house of cistercians was founded at the lost village of Eldbottle. The ancient house of Congalton founded a chapel at Congalton in the 12th century for the 'ease of their family and others who lived there'. Also in the 12th century, a religious establishment was founded at

Fidra Fidra (archaically Fidrey or Fetheray) is a currently uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, northwest of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an RSPB Scotland nature reserve. Geography Like the other islands near N ...

, an island off Dirleton; that chapel or priory was dedicated to

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

. The monks travelled to and from the island via a ferry, and a nearby farm is still known as the Ferrygate. left, Island of Fidra Around the same time, The de Vaux family founded a chapel, dedicated to All Saints, in Dirleton. Statistical Account of Scotland 1834–1845 Then, in 1444, the Haliburton's, now the lords of Dirleton Castle founded a college of priests at their church in Dirleton. The old church at Gullane continued beyond

the Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

but in 1612, after a plea from Sir Thomas Erskine, a future earl of Kellie, to Parliament, the parish church was removed to Dirleton after stating his case of the old church was no longer fit for purpose because of its exposure to the blowing sands of the nearby beach. Dirleton Church History page In 1576, Andrew McGhie, the last vicar at Gullane St. Andrews was reproved by King James VI for his excessive use of tobacco. ruined chapel in Haliburton range of Dirleton Castle

The new church

Dirleton Parish Church, dedicated to St.Andrew, was built soon after Sir Thomas' plea of 1612. Colin McWilliam describes the church

"It is long and wide, with round–headed windows under the low eaves. The s side and roof are interrupted by the pedimented aisle built of ashlar by James Maxwell, Earl of Dirleton. It has a stone roof nicely supported along the eaves by stone brackets, and between the rusticated corner piers a looped–traceried window. On the e side, a pedimented doorway"

Over the years the church was altered and enlarged and the Archerfield, or Dirleton Aisle was built over the grave of

James Maxwell, 1st Earl of Dirletoun James Maxwell, 1st Earl of Dirletoun (died 1650) was a Scottish courtier and landowner, and Black Rod. He was involved in selling royal jewels. James VI and I Maxwell was the son of Robert Maxwell of Kirkhouse (d. 1583) and Nichola Murray, daught ...

. This aisle is believed to be the first piece of

neo-classical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

in Scotland. In 1836, the tower was crowned with Gothic pinnacles allowing the parapets of the tower to blend charmingly with the rest of the church. Mary Nisbet Hamilton (1777–1855) did much for the church. It was she who financed the building of the new manse in 1828, ensured the tower was completed and added a vestry. By way of a memorial to his wife, Mr. Russell of Archerfield donated a stained glass window showing ' St. Francis and the animals' on which more than ninety animals are depicted. Miss

Margaret Chilton Margaret Isobel Chilton (1875–1963), born at Clifton, Bristol, was a British stained glass artist and instructor. Career In the early 1900s she attended the Royal College of Art in London, where she was taught by Christopher Whall. In about ...

was the designer. Remarkably, the church records date from 1655 and there have only been twenty ministers in the parish since 1576. In 1971 the church was designated as a 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 Irel ...

Stained Glass

*South (porch) -

St Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a Mysticism, mystic Italian Catholic Church, Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most vener ...

(three panels) by

*Main east window (three panels) *South -west - Christ Child by Ballantine and Gardiner (1899) *South central - Suffer the Little Children by

Daniel Cottier Daniel Cottier (1838–1891) was a British artist and designer born in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland. His work was said to be influenced by the writing of John Ruskin, the paintings of the Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the work of William Morris. H ...

(1892) *North - Samuel anointing David by Douglas Strachan (1916) *North-east - Jesus the Shepherd

Pre 20th. century ministers and year of taking office

Taken from the

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation'' is a title given to books containing lists of ministers from the Church of Scotland. The original volumes covered all ministers of the Estab ...

by Hew Scott. * 1576 Thomas MakGhie * 1597 Andrew MakGhie * 1637 John Trotter * 1639 John MakGhie * 1683 Robert Sinclair * 1688

Laurence Charteris Lawrence Charteris (1625–1700) was an influential Scottish minister. Life The grandson of Henry Charteris the elder, and a younger son of Henry Charteris the younger, he was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.A. in ...

* 1697 James Clark * 1708 James Alston ^^ * 1733 James Glen * 1749 Hugh (or Hew) Bannatyne * 1769 Alexander Glen * 1805 William Stark * 1835 John Ainslie * 1843 James Scott * 1864 William Logie * 1878 John Kerr: the ''sporting parson''. ^^ James Alston was elected Moderator of the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray ...

in 1725.

Today

The parish now consists of Dirleton, Fenton Barns, Archerfield, the Westerdunes district of North Berwick and the hamlet of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. The church has been linked with the Abbey Church (Church of Scotland) in

since 1989 and the present minister is Dr. David Graham.

Notable people: Dirleton Kirk

* Sir Thomas Erskine. Lord Dirleton * Sir James Maxwell of Dirleton * Sir John Nisbet, Lord Advocate – A man described by Bishop Gilbert Burnet as "One of the worthiest and learnedest men of his age, a person of great integrity and who always stood firm to the law" * Mary Nisbet Hamilton * Mr. Jackson Russell of Archerfield

References

External links

more photos at Geograph
{{coord, 56.048, -2.785, display=title Churches in East Lothian Category A listed buildings in East Lothian Collegiate churches in Scotland Listed churches in Scotland Church of Scotland churches in Scotland 1612 establishments in Scotland 17th-century establishments in Scotland Churches completed in 1612 17th-century Church of Scotland church buildings