Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh

Canongate Kirk is the parish church you are looking at, serving the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh’s Old Town as part of the Church of Scotland. Its story begins with a forced departure: after worship in Holyrood Abbey was prohibited, the congregation used Lady Yester’s Church until this new building was ready. James Smith was engaged as its architect, and the congregation moved in when construction was completed in 1691.

The church’s parish has an unusual reach. It includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament, and it also serves Edinburgh Castle, despite that castle being detached from the rest of the parish. This building has held both religious and royal associations.

During the Jacobite occupation of Edinburgh in 1745, the church was used to keep prisoners captured at Prestonpans. Much later, Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall were married here on 30 July 2011. Queen Elizabeth II also attended services during some of her visits to Edinburgh. The church remains a working congregation, while its long history is carried by the building itself.