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

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the West End of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland; part of the worldwide

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

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

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

of all Scottish Episcopal churches in the Edinburgh diocese, which stretches from the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

down to the English border. There are seven dioceses in Scotland. St Mary's is the see of the Bishop of Edinburgh, one of the seven bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The cathedral was designed in a Victorian

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style by architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. It has attained Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The cathedral is one of only three in the United Kingdom that feature three spires, the other two being Lichfield and Truro cathedrals. The main spire is tall, making the building the tallest in the Edinburgh urban area. The Song School and the Chapter House were also added in years following consecration - the Chapter house in 1880. The two west spires - ‘Barbara’ and ‘Mary’ - were completed in 1917.

History

In 1689, following the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

, Presbyterianism was restored in place of episcopacy in the national

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. This led to the emergence of the Scottish Episcopal Church as a separate Christian denomination. Edinburgh's historic St Giles' Cathedral 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. A bequest by Barbara and Mary Walker left the cathedral's site in Edinburgh's West End to the Episcopal Church alongside an endowment. administered by the Walker Trustees, 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, six times

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

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 George Gilbert Scott and the foundation stone was laid on 21 May 1874 by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, 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 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, Sir George's grandson. The

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

is designed by John Oldrid Scott 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 St John's College chapel, 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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

to employ girls in the treble line as well as boys, in 1978, when Dennis Townhill was organist and choir master. In 2005, St Mary's Cathedral became the first cathedral in the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

tradition to have a female alto singing in daily services. It is the only cathedral in Scotland to offer Choral Evensong during weekdays on a regular basis.

Song School

The Song School was built in 1885. It was designed by John Oldrid Scott. The Song School walls were ornately decorated by the Irish-born artist Phoebe Anna Traquair between 1888 and 1892. 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). 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 tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), 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 ...

, 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 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 . The bells were dedicated on 29 October 1879.

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

Organ

Since 1879 there has been an organ, which was built with a mechanical action by 'Father' Henry Willis. It was changed to electro-pneumatic action in 1897 by Robert Hope-Jones. From 1931 to the present it has been maintained by Harrison & Harrison of Durham. Nowadays its disposition consists of 57 stops.

Organists

*1878 Thomas Henry Collinson *1929 Robert Head *1958 Eric Parsons *1961 Dennis Townhill *1991 Timothy Byram-Wigfield *1999 Matthew Owens *2005 Simon Nieminski *2007 (to current day) Duncan Ferguson (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 * 1940–1944 David Dunlop * 1944–1949 Ivor Ramsay * 1949–1956 Hector Gooderham * 1957–1967 Reginald Foskett * 1967–1970 Patrick Rodger * 1970–1990 Philip Crosfield * 1990–2017 Graham Forbes * September 2017 (to current day) John Conway

Objects of interest

Memorials

* Captain James Dundas V.C. (1842–1879) * General Sir Alexander Frank Philip Christison Bt. (1893–1993), erected by the Burma Star Association * Soldiers of the Royal Scots 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 A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifixion of Jesus, crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painti ...

was designed as part of the National War Memorial, and completed by Sir Robert Lorimer 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's pew was 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 historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

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

Paolozzi’s Millennium Window

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

Depictions

An original painting of the cathedral by Judy Joel appeared on the second class stamp in the Royal Mail's 2024 series of special Christmas stamps.

Gallery

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 was designed by John Oldrid Scott and sculpted by Mary Grant of Kilgraston in Perthshire - one of the most eminent female sculptors of 19th-century Britain, with numerous commissions from the rich and famous. The reredos is in alabaster with inlaid coloured marbles and depicts the crucifixion scene around the cross at Calvary: to Jesus' left, his mother Mary; and to his right, faithful disciple John. At Jesus' feet is a distressed Mary Magdalene. In addition there are carved wingéd angels atop the structure, and below the crucifixion scene are five marble disks each displaying an angel's face and wings. The figure to the far left of the reredos, in its own outer archway, is St Columba and to the right is St Margaret of Scotland. 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 ofThe 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 Episcopal Cathedral Wildflower Labyrinth June 2023.jpg, Wildflower labyrinth in the South Gardens File:St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral’s beautiful North Gardens.jpg, The cathedral’s North Gardens

Links of further interest

* Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church * Bishop of Edinburgh * Frances Burberry, dean of the Edinburgh diocese * Diocese of Edinburgh * List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom * St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Roman Catholic), the Roman Catholic cathedral of similar name situated at the East End of Edinburgh

References

Sources

Notes

External links

*
A history of the choristers of St Mary's Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Cathedral, Edinburg, Episcopal 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