GUEST EVENING - St Giles', Maurice McIlwrick

Maurice gave our members and guests an interesting and informative talk entitled 'The Kirk on the High Street' describing the fantastic history of St Giles' Cathedral located on the historic Royal Mile in the heart of of Edinburgh's Old Town.

Maurice explained that the cathedral is fourth in the league table of tourist attractions in Edinburgh, receiving nearly one million visitors each year. In describing its history he stated that in the late 1300's the building was partially destroyed by fire under attack from the English and that, under instruction from Rome, it was rebuilt over the next 100 years by the craftsmen's guilds of Edinburgh.  This work included the erection of the cathedral tower and the inclusion of many new chapels endowed by prominent merchants and nobles. By the middle of the 16th century, there were around fifty altars in the church.

During the 16th century, the Scottish Reformation led to national churches breaking their ties with Rome and John Knox  was elected minister of Edinburgh.  Knox served as Minister at St Giles' until 1572. Today his statue stands inside the cathedral and is a popular photo stop for tourists.

Maurice then explained how the building of new churches in Edinburgh's New Town in the 18th century resulted in a serious decline in congregation numbers at St Giles' and by 1800 the building was in a very poor state of repair. However, in 1829 the restoration of the building began and this resulted in the demolition of some chapels and old galleries, the removal of partition walls and the installation of new stained glass windows including one commemorating the life of Robert Burns. In 1911 the Thistle Chapel was completed and a new restoration programme began in 1977 - much work still has to be done.

The Club's appreciation was shown by Peter McGavigan who thanked Maurice for his excellent talk. 

Report by Graham Low