Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
1 St Giles Cathedral
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Properly called the High Kirk of Edinburgh (it was only a true cathedral - the seat of a
bishop - from 1633 to 1638 and from 1661 to 1689), St Giles Cathedral is named after the
patron saint of cripples and beggars. The present church dates largely from the 15th century
- the beautiful crown spire was completed in 1495 - but much of it was restored in the 19th
century.
The cathedral occupies the site of a Norman-style church that was built in 1126 but des-
troyed by English invaders in 1385; the only substantial remains are the central piers that
support the tower. The present-day interior lacks grandeur but is rich in history: St Giles
was at the heart of the Scottish Reformation, and John Knox served as minister here from
1559 to 1572. One of the most interesting corners of the kirk is the Thistle Chapel, built in
1911 for the Knights of the Most Ancient & Most Noble Order of the Thistle. The elabor-
ately carved Gothic-style stalls have canopies topped with the helms and arms of the 16
knights - look out for the bagpipe-playing angel amid the vaulting. Outside the eastern end
of St Giles is the Mercat Cross , a 19th- century copy of the 1365 original, where mer-
chants and traders met to transact business and royal proclamations were read; in 1745,
Bonnie Prince Charlie had his father proclaimed King James VIII of Scotland here.
Outside the western door is a cobblestone heart set into the paving that marks the site of
the 15th-century Tolbooth . The Tolbooth served variously as a meeting place for parlia-
ment and the town council before becoming law courts and, finally, a notorious prison and
place of execution. Immortalised in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Heart of Midlothian , the
Tolbooth was demolished in the 19th century. Passersby traditionally spit on the heart for
good luck (don't stand downwind!). ( www.stgilescathedral.org.uk ; High St; suggested donation £3;
9am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat, 1-5pm Sun May-Sep, 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun Oct-Apr;
2, 23, 27, 41, 42, 45)
CHURCH
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