Newbattle (from Neubotle, i.e. new dwelling) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in Midlothian, in the ancient Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Andrews, about seven miles from

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

. There was an abbey there founded about 1140, being the second of the six Cistercian Monasteries established by King

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...

. The civil parish had a population of 21,534 (in 2011).Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved March 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930

Newbattle Abbey

Newbattle Abbey Newbattle Abbey ( gd, Abaid a' Bhatail Nuaidh) was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution. Monastery It was founded in 1140 by ...

was founded in 1140 by monks from

Melrose Abbey St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of King David I of Scotland and was the chief house of th ...

. It lies near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland. The patron was King

(with his son Henry). Its church was dedicated in 1234. The abbey was burned by English royal forces in 1385 and once more in 1544. It became a secular lordship for the last commendator, Mark Kerr (Ker) in 1587.

Newbattle Church

After the Reformation most of the remains of the Abbey church were removed and used to build a new church, the proverbial "stone's throw away", so still within the Abbey grounds. What resulted was a new independent Newbattle Church that would see traumatic times, as Scotland, in particular, entered the Period of Unsettlement. Little is known about the Newbattle church built after the Reformation. It was situated somewhere on the other side of Newbattle Road from the present church. While it has always been Protestant, the form of church government has been at different times Presbyterian and Episcopalian. The first permanent minister was Adam Foulis who was translated from Heriot to Newbattle in 1570. He was followed by Robert Wilson in 1573, John Heries in 1583, Alex Ambrose in 1608 and then John Aird in 1615. During John Aird's incumbency, there were between 800 and 900 Communicants within the Parish. The Newbattle Communion Sacrament became such an occasion that it was held in the Churchyard Cemetery. Here a tent was erected and the Welsh Family Table monument was used to dispense not only the Communion but also refreshments after the Service. Such was the popularity of the Newbattle Communion Sacrament that adjoining Parishes closed on such Sundays and the occasion became known as a Holy Fair. The principle was adopted by local Parishes, resulting in such events as the Dalkeith Fair. The Newbattle Fair became known as the Newbattle Sacrament, a Day of Freedom. The Rev Aird did many things for the Parish, such as implementing Knox's ideal for a Settled School in every Parish, the first Parish School being built in the area close to the site of the present church. Robert Leightonbr>
who was minister from 1641 to 1653 before becoming Principals of the University of Edinburgh, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, is still remembered today as a scholar and preacher.

The current building

In 1720, the building was in such a poor state of repair that the minister, the Rev. Charles Campbell, thought it would possibly fall down. In September 1725, the

Marquess of Lothian Marquess of Lothian is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, which was created in 1701 for Robert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian. The Marquess of Lothian holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Lothian (created 1606), Earl of Lothian (created again 1 ...

presented plans for a new church to Dalkeith Presbytery and the heritors (landowners). Edinburgh architect Mr Alexander McGill had drawn up these plans, and, although the project was approved, work did not commence on the new building, and on a clean site, until 1727. The design included making use of material from the old Church, where suitable, in the construction. In fact a considerable amount of stonework was transferred, to such an extent that all that remained of the old Church was the Crypt, which remained as the Burial Chamber for the Kerr/Lothian family. The completion year is generally accepted as 1729. At the beginning of the 18th century, the floor of a church consisted of earth, and, while the laird would erect a loft or seat, the majority of the congregation sat on stools placed upon the earthen floor. Although, in 1739, lofts were erected in the north and south aisles of Newbattle church, it was not until 1750 that seats were purchased and the passageways paved. The South wall of the Church has three traditional style stained glass windows. This wall also supported a Gallery and the Organ until 1937, when the Gallery was removed and the Organ re-sited. The large central circular window, depicting the Creation, was designed by Catherine Hamilton, the mother of the Rev J Arnott Hamilton, a minister at Newbattle from 1922 to 1952. The window to the left of the circular window, is a memorial to those of the Parish who served during World War II. The third window commemorates that Newbattle was the Garrison Church for the Forces personnel, in particular the Royal Army Medical Corps, stationed at the Abbey and the adjoining Camp. An unofficial record of those who gave of their service during the period of the

Second World war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and beyond, remain written on the walls just inside the door beside the organ. Some stationed here, some recovering from wounds and/or traumas, some from local voluntary organisations.

Newbattle Parish Church (post 2003)

Newbattle Parish Church remains 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 2003, the boundary of Newbattle Parish (covering Newbattle, Mayfield and Easthouses) was extended to include the village of Newtongrange - effectively restoring the original parish borders of several centuries ago. The 18th century Newbattle church building, together with those within the communities of

Newtongrange Newtongrange () is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. Known in local dialect as ''Nitten'', or ''Nitten by the Bing'' (), it became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890s, with the sinking of the Lady Victoria Colliery an ...

, Mayfield and

Easthouses Easthouses is a settlement in Midlothian, Scotland, lying to the east of Newtongrange and south of Dalkeith. It forms the northern extension of the settlement of Mayfield, with which it is closely associated; the two communities have a combined p ...

, are maintained as centres of worship by the post-200
Newbattle Parish Church of Scotland
* The former minister (the Reverend Monika R W Redman) left in 2010 to move to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

* The current minister is Reverend Sean Swindells

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