Orthodox Chapel of St Andrew
| Orthodox Chapel of St Andrew | |
|---|---|
| Greek Orthodox Chapel of St Andrew | |
 | |
| 55°56′37″N 3°11′07″W / 55.94361°N 3.18528°WCoordinates: 55°56′37″N 3°11′07″W / 55.94361°N 3.18528°W | |
| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Greek Orthodox |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St. Cuthbert's Chapel of Ease Buccleuch Parish Church |
| Status | Chapel |
| Founded | 1756 |
| Dedication | St. Cuthbert |
| Consecrated | January 1756 |
| Events | Sold to Greek Orthodox community |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Construction cost | £640 (£97,300 in 2022)[1] |
| Closed | 1969 (as Buccleuch Parish Church) |
| Clergy | |
| Priest in charge | The Very Revd. Archimandrite Raphael Pavouris |
| Priest(s) | The Very Revd. Archimandrite Hieromonk Avraamy Neyman The Revd Presbyter Luke Jeffery |
| Deacon(s) | The Revd. Antonios Kakalis |
The Orthodox Chapel of St Andrew, originally St. Cuthbert's Chapel of Ease aka Buccleuch Parish Church, was built as a chapel of ease for the congregation of the St Cuthbert's Church, a Church of Scotland parish in Edinburgh. Opened in 1756, it is the oldest ecclesiastical edifice in the south side of Edinburgh. The building is sited at 33 Chapel Street, adjacent to the University of Edinburgh.[2] It was later renamed Buccleuch Parish Church and is now used by The Orthodox Community of Saint Andrew in Edinburgh.
History[]
Originally built to accommodate the growing congregation of St. Cuthbert's parish which was no longer able to accommodate the parishioners and was itself in need of urgent rebuilding. Subscriptions requested and by March 1755 this amounted to £460. Land at the Windmill at the west end of the Crosscauseway was then feued. The building cost £640 and 10 shillings to construct, and seated 1,200 worshippers.[3] The chapel was opened for public worship in January 1756. Seat rents were fixed yearly by the kirk session and those who had subscribed five guineas or upwards towards the erection of the chapel. Furthermore, the subscribers and twenty-one managers joined with the ministers and kirk session of St. Cuthbert's in arranging pulpit supply.
In June, 1763, the ground surrounding the chapel was opened for interments. The graveyard, which occupies the site of the windmill that pumped up water from the Borough Loch (Meadows) for the Society of Brewers, contains remains of several eminent people including Thomas Blacklock, the "discoverer" of Burns; Alexander Adam, a rector of the High School of Edinburgh and writer on Roman antiquities; Alison Cockburn, a Scottish poet; and Deacon Brodie, a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker, partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling, among others. The churchyard was in constant use till 1820, when it was closed to all but those who had purchased ground. At the same time there was opened a new place of sepulture in East Preston Street.
Buccleuch was raised to the status of a quoad sacra parish church in 1834.[4]
The building was remodelled and extended in 1866. The church closed in 1969, and having been used by the University of Edinburgh for storage for 40 years[5] was sold to The Orthodox Community of Saint Andrew in Edinburgh and reopened in 2015.[6]
Notable Interments[]
- Alexander Adam (1741-1809)
- Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791) poet
- Deacon Brodie (1741-1788) infamous criminal (unmarked)
- Alison Cockburn (1712-1794)
- Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744)
- Charles Darwin (1758-1778)
Ministers[]
- 1758 to 1765 - James Roy
- 1765 to 1808 - John Touch (1740-1820)
- 1808 to 1813 - technically "vacant" but supplied by Henry Wellwood Moncreiff and David Dickson the younger
- 1813 to 1824 - Henry Grey
- 1824 to 1843 - Patrick Clason left in 1843 to join the Free Church, of which he was Moderator in 1848
- 1843 to 1851 - Henry Rutherford
- 1851 to 1857 - under the charge of Edinburgh University Missionary Association
- 1857 to 1863 - Alexander McLaren
- 1864 to 1875 - Finlay Mathieson
- 1875 to 1881 - John Young Scott
- 1882 to 1901 - John Campbell of Nova Scotia
- 1901 to 1907 - David Andrew Rollo
- 1908 to 1913 - James Edward Houston
- 1913 to ? - Neil MacLeod Ross
References[]
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Site Record for Edinburgh, 33 Chapel Street, Buccleuch Parish Church Buccleuch Street And Chapel Street, Buccleuch Parish Church Prints". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ "St Cuthbert's Website : The Kirk – 18th Century History". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana by Hew Scott
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "CHAPEL STREET, FORMER BUCCLEUCH PARISH CHURCH (Category C Listed Building) (LB26785)". Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ City of Edinburgh Council: Planning records 2013
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