Church Overview

The Benedictine Priory Church of the Holy Trinity was founded in Dunfermline in 1072, on a much older ecclesiastical site, by Queen Margaret. and her husband King Malcolm III. The foundations of this building’s choir are located beneath the monastic church that was established on this site by their son David I in 1128, who raised it to abbey status in 1150. Referred to today as the “Old Church”, a significant part of David’s abbey survived the Reformation and today forms the superb Romanesque nave of the ‘modern’ Perpendicular Gothic parish church, that was built by architect William Burn from 1818-21.

Further extensive alterations to the cruciform-planned Georgian parish church, that occupies the site of the medieval chancel and transepts, were undertaken 1903-05 by the celebrated Scottish architect Robert Rowand Anderson. The current church also sits over the burial place of Robert the Bruce, whose remains were rediscovered in 1818 and re-interred beneath the pulpit of the new church. The church’s beloved tower also has the words “King Robert the Bruce” carved in stone around its roof and a brass cover, by the firm of Stewart McGlashan and Son, was added to his tomb in 1889. Many other Scottish monarchs and notable figures were also buried beneath the hallowed floors of Dunfermline Abbey.

Inside, flat rib vaulting lead the visitors’ eyes up to elaborate ceiling bosses. Its plastered walls were painted during Anderson’s refurbishment to imitate ashlar, with a stencilled frieze beneath the clerestory. The exquisitely carved pulpit, baldacchino and communion table were also designed by Anderson along and the two manual Forster and Andrews pipe organ dates to 1882, having been rebuilt twice since, in 1911 and 1966. A magistrates’ pew of 1610 sits in the north transept and interesting monuments and memorials are located throughout the building. The church is also adorned with a fine assemblage of stained glass windows, by Ballantine & Gardiner, William Wilson, Gordon Webster, Douglas Strachan and the Tiffany Studios.

Becoming one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Scotland, as it housed the remains and shrine of St Margare, Dunfermline Abbey Parish Church was designated as a Destination Hub on our St Margaret Pilgrim Journey. You can find a much more detailed history and timeline of this remarkable ecclesiastical site on the church’s own website. 

Services

Sundays at 10.30am and Wednesdays at 12.15pm

Opening Arrangements

Tuesday to Saturday from 10am-4pm (last entry half hour before closing)

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.