Dirleton Kirk tower including the ancient stair tower on north

Dirleton Kirk is a church in the village of Dirleton, in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The church (at ) is to the north of the village green. Dirleton lies on the south shore of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

21 miles east of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and two miles west of

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

, slightly north of the A198 road.

Early Christianity in the Parish now known as Dirleton

Ruined St. Andrews Kirk, Gullane Before 1612, the parish church was the 12th century St. Andrews Church at Gullane, or Golyn as it was then named. A cell of

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

nuns was believed to be active near the old church at Gullane in the 12th century while another house of cistercians was founded at the lost village of Eldbottle. The ancient house of Congalton founded a chapel at Congalton in the 12th century for the 'ease of their family and others who lived there'. Also in the 12th century, a religious establishment was founded at

Fidra Fidra (archaically Fidrey or Fetheray) is a currently uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, northwest of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an RSPB Scotland nature reserve. Geography Like the other islands nea ...

, an island off Dirleton; that chapel or priory was dedicated to

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya Province, Turkey) dur ...

. The monks travelled to and from the island via a ferry, and a nearby farm is still known as the Ferrygate. left, Island of Fidra Around the same time, The de Vaux family founded a chapel, dedicated to All Saints, in Dirleton. Statistical Account of Scotland 1834–1845 Then, in 1444, the Haliburton's, now the lords of

Dirleton Castle Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around west of North Berwick, and around east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by th ...

founded a college of priests at their church in Dirleton. The old church at Gullane continued beyond

the Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

but in 1612, after a plea from Sir Thomas Erskine, a future earl of Kellie, to Parliament, the parish church was removed to Dirleton after stating his case of the old church was no longer fit for purpose because of its exposure to the blowing sands of the nearby beach. Dirleton Church History page In 1576, Andrew McGhie, the last vicar at Gullane St. Andrews was reproved by King James VI for his excessive use of tobacco. ruined chapel in Haliburton range of Dirleton Castle

The new church

Dirleton Parish Church, dedicated to St.Andrew, was built soon after Sir Thomas' plea of 1612. Colin McWilliam describes the church

"It is long and wide, with round–headed windows under the low eaves. The s side and roof are interrupted by the pedimented aisle built of ashlar by James Maxwell, Earl of Dirleton. It has a stone roof nicely supported along the eaves by stone brackets, and between the rusticated corner piers a looped–traceried window. On the e side, a pedimented doorway"

Over the years the church was altered and enlarged and the Archerfield, or Dirleton Aisle was built over the grave of

James Maxwell, 1st Earl of Dirletoun James Maxwell, 1st Earl of Dirletoun (died 1650) was a Scottish courtier and landowner, and Black Rod. He was involved in selling royal jewels. James VI and I Maxwell was the son of Robert Maxwell of Kirkhouse (d. 1583) and Nichola Murray, daugh ...

. This aisle is believed to be the first piece of

neo-classical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

in Scotland. In 1836, the tower was crowned with Gothic pinnacles allowing the parapets of the tower to blend charmingly with the rest of the church. Mary Nisbet Hamilton (1777–1855) did much for the church. It was she who financed the building of the new manse in 1828, ensured the tower was completed and added a vestry. By way of a memorial to his wife, Mr. Russell of Archerfield donated a stained glass window showing ' St. Francis and the animals' on which more than ninety animals are depicted. Miss Margaret Chilton was the designer. Remarkably, the church records date from 1655 and there have only been twenty ministers in the parish since 1576. In 1971 the church was designated as a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Stained Glass

*South (porch) -

St Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he ...

(three panels) by Margaret Chilton *Main east window (three panels) *South -west - Christ Child by Ballantine and Gardiner (1899) *South central - Suffer the Little Children by

Daniel Cottier Daniel Cottier (1838 – 1891) was a British artist and designer born in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland. His work was said to be influenced by the writing of John Ruskin, the paintings of the Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the work of William Morris. ...

(1892) *North - Samuel anointing David by

Douglas Strachan Douglas Strachan Hon. RSA (26 May 1875, Aberdeen, Scotland – 20 November 1950) is considered the most significant Scottish designer of stained glass windows in the 20th century. He is best known for his windows at the Peace Palace in The Hagu ...

(1916) *North-east - Jesus the Shepherd

Pre 20th. century ministers and year of taking office

Taken from the

Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation'' is a title given to books containing lists of ministers from the Church of Scotland. The original volumes covered all ministers of the Esta ...

by Hew Scott. * 1576 Thomas MakGhie * 1597 Andrew MakGhie * 1637 John Trotter * 1639 John MakGhie * 1683 Robert Sinclair * 1688

Laurence Charteris Lawrence Charteris (1625–1700) was an influential Scottish minister. Life The grandson of Henry Charteris the elder, and a younger son of Henry Charteris the younger, he was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.A. in 1 ...

* 1697 James Clark * 1708 James Alston ^^ * 1733 James Glen * 1749 Hugh (or Hew) Bannatyne * 1769 Alexander Glen * 1805 William Stark * 1835 John Ainslie * 1843 James Scott * 1864 William Logie * 1878 John Kerr: the ''sporting parson''. ^^ James Alston was elected Moderator of the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...

in 1725.

Today

The parish now consists of Dirleton, Fenton Barns, Archerfield, the Westerdunes district of North Berwick and the hamlet of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. The church has been linked with the Abbey Church (Church of Scotland) in

since 1989 and the present minister is Dr. David Graham.

Notable people: Dirleton Kirk

* Sir Thomas Erskine. Lord Dirleton * Sir James Maxwell of Dirleton * Sir John Nisbet, Lord Advocate – A man described by Bishop Gilbert Burnet as "One of the worthiest and learnedest men of his age, a person of great integrity and who always stood firm to the law" * Mary Nisbet Hamilton * Mr. Jackson Russell of Archerfield

References

External links

more photos at Geograph
{{coord, 56.048, -2.785, display=title Churches in East Lothian Category A listed buildings in East Lothian Collegiate churches in Scotland Listed churches in Scotland Church of Scotland churches in Scotland 1612 establishments in Scotland 17th-century establishments in Scotland Churches completed in 1612 17th-century Church of Scotland church buildings