Church Overview

Sitting in a commanding position overlooking the modern city, a church is believed to have been founded here in 1143 by King David I, although archaeological and documentary evidence suggests an ecclesiastical foundation was on this site at least a century or more before this date.

The present building was erected between 1815-16, to the designs of celebrated Scottish architect James Gillespie Graham, but the church did not open for worship until all of its seats had been numbered and allocated, a process thought to have been concluded in 1817. At the time of its building Liberton Kirk stood as the most prominent local landmark, surrounded by agricultural fields and the little village of Liberton, with its coaching inn, workshops and a few cottages, a situation that was soon to change as the city grew and enveloped the former rural hamlet.

The bold rectangular and symmetrical, “semi-Gothic” building, with its distinctive corbelled and crenellated three stage tower at its west end, was built after its predecessor church was substantially demolished in 1814, having been deemed too small and aged. Tradition asserts that only the 1736 burial vault of the Bairds of Newbyth survived to be incorporated into the rear of Gillespie’s striking replacement and would eventually be repurposed as a meeting room for the kirk elders. Recent archaeological investigations cast some doubt on this, but it is almost a certainty that the bell in the church tower, made by the Edinburgh bell foundry of Henderson and Ormiston in 1747, was transferred from the previous building. 

Its peaceful galleried interior was originally built to accommodate 1480 seated worshippers, but this was reduced to 1000 in 1882, when the building was refurbished inside. Among other changes, its previously flat gallery was reconstructed into its current tiered configuration, and a new compartmented ceiling, with Gothic mouldings, was installed overhead. Its current, attractive Gothic oak furnishings were introduced to the chancel in 1928 and further work was carried out to recast the interior in 1958, reducing the seating to around 900. Significant restoration work took place throughout the building in the early 2000s, with works including a further refurbishment of the interior, improving accessibility and reducing the overall capacity to around 725.

Memorials commemorating the local fallen of the two World Wars are located by the west door and monuments to various individuals connected with the church line other walls. A memorial stained glass window commemorating Major-General Andrew Gilbert Wauchope of Niddrie, by the firm of A Ballantine & Son, was installed in 1905. Wauchope had been an elder of the church, before being killed in action at the Battle of Magersfontein during the Boer War of 1899. In the era when pews were allotted to individuals and households, his family maintained their own pew in the church and his widow Jane occupied it the day the window next to it, depicting an angel appearing before Cornelius the centurion, was unveiled.

Due to congregational preference for unaccompanied psalm singing, a pipe organ was not installed in the kirk until 1930, when an expensive Ingram & Co instrument was introduced to the building. After becoming damaged by the church’s central heating system, the traditional pipe organ was replaced in 1973 by an Allen Organ Company electronic organ, which was itself superseded by a fine Wyvern Church Organs pipeless instrument in 2001.

The church changes its distinctive hand-made pulpit falls, according to the season, and four attractive wall hangings, made for the Millennium by local artist D. Morrison, can be seen on the walls, along with a growing number of wall-hangings made by members of the congregation. It also houses a significant archive of local genealogical records dating from as far back as 1630, including baptismal, marriage, death, war service, 1693 Poll Tax and census documents, all of which are available to view by prior arrangement.

The surrounding kirkyard contains many stones of special interest, including many 17th-18th century stones depicting “memento mori” and trade symbols and a magnificent table-top tomb to a local farmer, its ends carved in relief with agricultural scenes and an effigy of the reclining farmer with his dog beneath. The kirk session records from 1807 record a macabre incident of ‘body snatching’ in the graveyard, when the corpse of a young man was dug up to sell to Edinburgh’s unscrupulous anatomists. Wary of further such activities, the congregation in 1818 paid for an “offering house” to be built next to a set of new securable gates, controlling access to the kirkyard. The little building provided shelter for night watchmen that were employed by families to guard the remains of the recently deceased following their funerals until such time as they would be of no use to the medical professionals.

Happily such unenlightened behaviour is long in the past and the church congregation of today provides a welcoming community café in its Liberton Kirk Centre, just across the road from the kirk itself. The Kirkgate Café is open from 9am to 2pm on Mondays to Thursdays, with evening sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during school term-time. It even has an outdoor courtyard for those warmer sunny days, with the café providing light refreshments and hot and cold drinks during opening hours. We can wholeheartedly recommend their excellent scones!

In 2015, the congregation erected a cairn beside some benches at the south west corner of the kirk, to commemorate the bicentenary of their building. A memorial stone to remember those who suffered and lost during the COVID-19 Pandemic was later installed on the adjacent church wall in 2024.

On the 31st March 2024, Liberton formed a union with the congregations of Gracemount, Liberton Northfield, Tron Kirk Gilmerton and Moredun Churches, to create the South East Edinburgh Church of Scotland (SEECOS) unified congregation. The church is also a Destination Hub on our St Ninian Pilgrim Journey and you can take a digital tour of the building here.

Services

Sundays at 9.30am and 11am (10.30am July and August). See church’s own website for details of occasional evening services.

Opening Arrangements

Contact the church directly to arrange access outwith service times. Kirkgate Cafe (across road) is open Mondays to Thursdays from 9am to 2pm.

A car park and free on-street parking is available. Service animals welcome.

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.