Saint Stephen's Church is located in the New Town of

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 ...

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, at the bottom of Saint Vincent Street. It was built in 1827–1828, to a design by architect

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century, who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks. Life Playfair was born on 15 ...

(1789–1857). The first minister of the church was William Muir, who opened an evening school in the large vaulted cellars of the church for the education of the illiterate. The interior was altered in 1956, the congregation having declined. A major fundraising effort was organised led by the then minister, the Revd A. Ian Dunlop. This was one of the first subdivisions of major buildings in Edinburgh, with the reconstructed church occupying effectively the gallery level accessed by the main staircase from Howe Street, and a number of halls (including a main hall with fully fitted stage etc.) and meeting rooms formed below. These halls have over the years hosted a number of events including Festival Fringe shows. During the reconstruction the church fittings by architect

David Rhind David Rhind FRSE (1808 – 26 April 1883) was a prominent Scottish architect, mainly remembered for his public buildings, banks, churches and schools, most of which are now listed buildings. Life Rhind was born at 15 Gayfield Place in Edin ...

(1808–1883) were kept, as was the organ by Willis, which was re-built on the "gallery" level. On 27 June 2014,

Leslie Benzies Leslie Peter Benzies (born 17 January 1971) is a Scottish video game producer and the former president of Rockstar North, a subsidiary of Rockstar Games. He was the lead developer on the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, taking responsibility from ...

, a

video game producer A video game producer is the top person in charge of overseeing development of a video game. History The earliest documented use of the term ''producer'' in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Ar ...

and at the time president of

Rockstar North Rockstar North Limited (formerly DMA Design Limited) is a British video game development company and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Edinburgh. The company was founded as DMA Design in Dundee in 1987 by David Jones, soon hiring former clas ...

, announced a deal to purchase the church for over 500 thousand pounds. He plans to preserve the building and create a trust composed of members of the community to manage it. However, in 2017, Philip Johnston, trustee for the Benzies Foundation announced, "We now believe we have taken this as far as we can". On 12 July 2017,

Peter Schaufuss Peter Schaufuss (born 1949 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish ballet dancer, director and choreographer. Biography He is the son of ballet dancers Frank Schaufuss (1921–1997) and Mona Vangsaae (1920–1983). Schaufuss trained at the Royal D ...

, ballet dancer legend and founder of the

English National Ballet School English National Ballet School is a specialist classical ballet school based in London in the United Kingdom. The School was founded in 1988 by Peter Schaufuss as the official school of English National Ballet. The School's current Artistic D ...

purchased the church from the Benzies Foundation, stating "I plan to make the Great Hall a world-class theatre, one that will attract productions from leading companies from around the world". Ground and basement areas, meanwhile, would be intended to find mixed commercial, cultural and community usage. St Stephen's has since his takeover gone through much refurbishment latest the main hall now named Ashton Hall with one of the largest performing spaces in Scotland. The building is the home of newly founded Edinburgh Festival Ballet and its School and Scottish theatre school MGA Academy, as well many other cultural activities. It plays an important role in the community as well as its role as a venue at the annual Festival.

Clock

The -high tower has the longest clock pendulum in Europe.

Performing space

St Stephen's has hosted a number of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe over the years. From 2001 to 2007 it hosted Wolfgang Hoffman's ''Aurora Nova'' venue, with a number of dance shows.Rising cost forces Aurora Nova out of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
/ref> Aurora Nova withdrew from the Fringe in 2008, citing costs and loss of sponsorship, and the space was not used in 2008. The space was revived in 2009, with The Arches at St Stephen's being planned for the 2009 festival. In 2014, the building was for sale, with considerable speculation that it could be converted it into an arts centre with spaces for live music, dance and theatre.Edinburgh’s St Stephen’s Church could be arts HQ
''The Scotsman''

References

External links

Current floorplan, as published in 2014 schedule of sale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephens Stockbridge Edinburgh

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

Churches completed in 1827 19th-century Lutheran churches New Town, Edinburgh Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed churches in Edinburgh 1827 establishments in Scotland 19th-century churches in the United Kingdom