St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh

Edinburgh #2

My first proper stop was at St Giles Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh. With a 900 year history, the present church dates in parts back to the 14th century. It has been considerably altered over the years, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, when in 1911 the beautiful 'Knights of the Order of the Thistle' chapel was added. It has a rich history, almost too much to take in. (See HERE) 

Notably, in our own time, on 12 September 2022, the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II was taken to the cathedral for a service of thanksgiving, having travelled from Balmoral Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse the previous day. The Queen's coffin then lay at rest at the cathedral for 24 hours, guarded constantly by the Royal Company of Archers, allowing the people of Scotland to pay their respects. In the evening, the Queen's children: King Charles III, the Princess Royal, the Earl of Inverness (Andrew) and the Earl of Forfar (Edward) held a vigil at the cathedral, a custom known as the Vigil of the Princes.

The cathedral has some magnificent stained glass, much of it Victorian (by Ballantine) but some more recent, including a memorial window to Robert Burns above the west door (middle of second photo), which unfortunately I didn't manage to photograph properly. 

In the chapel dedicated to the Knights of the Order of the Thistle, there is some wonderful wood carving, many heraldic symbols and a magnificent vaulted ceiling. It's beautiful. 

The church became a Protestant church in 1559 after the Scottish Reformation. John Knox (above) was a Scottish priest who converted to Protestantism in the 1540s and fled into hiding and exile. On his return to Scotland he marched an army of followers into St Giles’ and preached there for the first time. The following week he was elected its minister and the building was stripped of its Catholic decoration. His burial place was in the churchyard, which is now a car park for the nearby High Court. They say he's under space 14! 

It's the first time I've been inside the cathedral. Like all of Edinburgh though, it was busy and it was difficult to move around and take photos freely. I shouldn't complain as I was 'a tourist' too but it did get a bit tedious continually having to avoid Chinese youngsters taking selfies all over town!