History of Leith, Edinburgh

THEY left Leith on the sailing vessel Symmetry in 1825 with the promise of a new life in South America.

And 183 years after 220 excited souls set off on their mammoth journey, their descendants have finally returned.for more click here

One of the greatest mysteries connected to Leith is the origins of South Leith Parish Church. According to Campbell Irons in his Leith and its Antiquities he asserts that it was founded in 1483 but gives no evidence for this assertion and since then every writer on Leith have said the same thing. (more…)

Monastic Orders
Benedictines - founded by St. Benedict in 529 AD. The largest order, the Benedictines were noted for their learning. The four vows of these monks were to obedience,chastity, poverty, and manual labour for 7 hours each day. St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury from 960 AD, was responsible for establishing a large number of Benedictine houses. for more click here

Glossary of Church Architecture

Altar - the holiest part of a church. In the medieval period the altar was a table or rectangular slab made of stone or marble, often set upon a raised step. After the Reformation the stone altars were replaced by wooden communion tables.

Ambulatory - a covered passage behind the altar, linking it with chapels at the east end of the church.

Apse - the domed or vaulted east end of the church. In Britain the apse is generally squared off, while on the continent, rounded apses were common. for more click here

The early ecclesiastical monuments at Abernethy, Brechin, Egilsay, Restennet, Edinburgh Castle and St Andrews have been assigned dates ranging from the eighth century through the10th and llth to the early 12th. It is the contention of this paper that all of these structures belong between c 1090 and c 1130, in a period marked by the diversity of its building types and decorative forms. for more click here

Source-Town Plan of Edinburgh (south east part) Surveyed: 1849-53 nls

Christianity in Medieval Scotland pertains to the Christian religion in Scotland in the Middle Ages. Prior to the Reformation, in the early modern period, Scotland was a Roman Catholic country. for more click here

It became a favourite expression of devotion on the part of great nobles, large land-owners, and sometimes kings or members of the royal family, to endow a church for the maintenance of divine service on a scale of completeness and ceremonial dignity that would have been impossible in an ordinary parish church. Lands, or the free revenues of parish churches which were subject to their patronage would be conveyed by the founders for the support of the new foundation. for more click here