St Peter's Church, Linlithgow is a parish of the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

in the town of

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

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 ...

, in the

Diocese of Edinburgh The Diocese of Edinburgh is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the City of Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Scottish Borders, Borders and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The diocesan centre is St Mary's Cathedra ...

. Its historic

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

on Linlithgow High Street is a Category B

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 ...

History

The church's origins as an organisation date back to 1912, when a group of local Episcopalians formed a group called the St Peter's Episcopal Mission. In its early years, the congregation had no permanent building, and at first used a variety of locations around the town: the Court Room of the Burgh Halls, a closed public house and an assortment of shops. They secured the use of a hall on the High Street, only for it to be requisitioned by the army in 1914. They then used the defunct Craigmailen United Free Church, but were forced to vacate the building due to

dry rot Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of wood which give it strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resulted in a ...

. The congregation also used rooms owned by the Scotch Girls Friendly Society, then a room at the Palace Hotel. This situation lasted until 1924, when the congregation's

Priest-in-Charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent; they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the ...

, Rev W.S. Snow, reported their plight to the

Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh, is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St ...

, G.H.S. Walpole. The bishop put down £100 to purchase a site on the High Street, and promised a further £500 towards the cost, this to come from a speaking tour he was about to give in the USA. Even with this, the first plan of architect J.W. Todd proved too costly, and the congregation could not have afforded the £1600 bill. A less ambitious £1000 design was later adopted. The church was required to slot into a space measuring just 26 feet in width. The church's unusual

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

design was chosen at least in part because it would alleviate the problem of letting sufficient light into such a narrow space with taller buildings on either side. The founding stone was laid by Colonel Maclaren of the Craigs on 18 May 1927, and the church was completed almost exactly a year later. Despite the fact that the congregation had always been named St Peter's, Bishop Walpole dedicated it to St Mildred, with whom his late wife had shared a name. The name reverted to St Peter's in 1978, though St Mildred is still featured on one of the stained glass windows in the sanctuary.

Organisation

The church is linked with St Columba's Church in nearby

Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Church, Linlithgow Churches completed in 1928 Episcopal church buildings in Scotland Category B listed buildings in West Lothian Listed churches in Scotland Christian organizations established in 1912