Church Overview

This beautiful A-listed church was designed by the celebrated Victorian architect Joseph A Hansom and built 1853-54. The site and the construction of the church itself was paid for by Lady Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, the Marchioness of Lothian, who was eventually buried at the foot of the altar.

It is built in an early English Gothic style, with a superbly decorated interior. It possesses sumptuously stencilled coffered ceilings by C H Goldie and a wonderful mural depicting the ‘Coronation of the Virgin’ by a Miss Gibsone over the chancel arch. The magnficent Caen stone altar was designed by the architect George Goldie of London and carved in 1864 by the sculptor Thomas Earp. The marchioness deposited relics of St Vitalis, gifted to her by Pope Pius IX, under the altar of the Lady Chapel in 1858.

A Pieta by Mayer & Co of Munich is located in a recess in one of its walls, which are adorned by Stations of the Cross imported specially from Paris by the Marchioness. The church also has a collection of striking stained glass, of various dates some by the firm of Morris & Co, and a pipe organ designed by Dr Edwin Monk of York Minster and built by Hamiltons of Edinburgh in 1864.

Services

Saturdays at 6pm and Sundays at 11am

Opening Arrangements

Open by arrangement

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.