St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh
St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh
St Giles’ Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a Category A Church of Scotland great church on the High Street and Parliament Square, the medieval burgh church of Edinburgh and a landmark of the Old Town skyline.
- Location
- Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
- Country
- Scotland
- County
- City of Edinburgh
- City / town
- Edinburgh
- Address
- High Street, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, EH1 1RE
- Postcode
- EH1 1RE
- Built
- Mid-C12 origins; rebuilt after 1385 fire; Albany Aisle 1401–10; Preston Aisle from 1455; Chepman Aisle 1513; crown spire rebuilt 1648; recased 1829–33; restored 1870–83; Thistle Chapel 1910
- Architect
- John Mylne (crown spire 1648); William Burn (1829–33); William Hay and George Henderson (1870–83); Robert Lorimer (Thistle Chapel)
- Denomination
- Church of Scotland
- Dedication
- Giles
- Parish
- High Kirk of Edinburgh (St Giles)
- Grade
- Category A
- Style
- Gothic
- Materials
- Sandstone; exterior largely recased in smooth ashlar except the central tower
- Grid reference
- NT 257 735
- Opening hours
- Summer opening hours Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 1pm to 5pm. Winter opening hours Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 1pm to 5pm.
- Access
- Non-accessible toilets in church. Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby. Accessible toilets in church
Overview
Historic Environment Scotland (LB27381, Category A, 14 December 1970) describes an outstanding Scottish ecclesiastical building of many phases. A church on the site is associated with the mid-twelfth-century burgh. After a fire in 1385 it was rebuilt as an aisled cruciform church with a five-bay nave and four-bay choir. The Moray Aisle followed soon after; the Albany Aisle was built in 1401–10; the Preston Aisle was begun by the Town Council in 1455; the Chepman Aisle was completed in 1513. Charles I briefly raised St Giles to cathedral status in 1633. John Mylne rebuilt the crown steeple in 1648.
William Burn reconstructed and re-faced the church in 1829–33, recasing most of the exterior in smooth ashlar except the central tower, heightening the nave arcade and adding a clerestory. William Hay and George Henderson restored the kirk in 1870–83. Stained glass is largely by James Ballantine and Sons (1847–94). Robert Lorimer’s Thistle Chapel was added south-east of the choir in 1910. The Church of Scotland has no diocese. HES Category A listing cannot be stored on the list-entry field used for Historic England and Cadw URLs.