Saint Stephen's Church is located in the

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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 ...

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, at the bottom of Saint Vincent Street. It was built in 1827–1828, to a design by architect

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and many of Edinb ...

(1789–1857). The first minister of the church was William Muir, who opened an evening school in the large vaulted cellars of the church for the education of the illiterate. Architectural Drawing of St

The interior was altered in 1956, the congregation having declined. A major fundraising effort was organised led by the then minister, the Revd A. Ian Dunlop. This was one of the first subdivisions of major buildings in Edinburgh, with the reconstructed church occupying effectively the gallery level accessed by the main staircase from Howe Street, and a number of halls (including a main hall with fully fitted stage etc.) and meeting rooms formed below. These halls have over the years hosted a number of events including Festival Fringe shows. During the reconstruction the church fittings by architect

David Rhind David Rhind FRSE (1808 – 26 April 1883) was a prominent Scotland, Scottish architect, mainly remembered for his public buildings, banks, churches and schools, most of which are now listed buildings. Life Rhind was born at 15 Gayfield Plac ...

(1808–1883) were kept, as was the organ by

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, which was re-built on the "gallery" level. On 27 June 2014,

Leslie Benzies Leslie Peter Benzies (born 17 January 1971) is a Scottish video game producer and the former president of Rockstar North, a subsidiary of Rockstar Games. He was the main producer on the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, taking responsibility from ...

, a

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and at the time president of

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, announced a deal to purchase the church for over 500 thousand pounds. He plans to preserve the building and create a trust composed of members of the community to manage it. However, in 2017, Philip Johnston, trustee for the Benzies Foundation announced, "We now believe we have taken this as far as we can". On 12 July 2017,

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, ballet dancer legend and founder of the

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purchased the church from the Benzies Foundation, stating "I plan to make the Great Hall a world-class theatre, one that will attract productions from leading companies from around the world". Ground and basement areas, meanwhile, would be intended to find mixed commercial, cultural and community usage. St Stephen's has since his takeover gone through much refurbishment latest the main hall now named Ashton Hall with one of the largest performing spaces in Scotland. The building is the home of newly founded Edinburgh Festival Ballet and its School and Scottish theatre school MGA Academy, as well many other cultural activities. It plays an important role in the community as well as its role as a venue at the annual Festival.

Clock

The -high tower has the longest clock pendulum in Europe.

Performing space

St Stephen's has hosted a number of shows at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

over the years. From 2001 to 2007 it hosted Wolfgang Hoffman's ''Aurora Nova'' venue, with a number of dance shows.Rising cost forces Aurora Nova out of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
''thestage.co.uk.'' Aurora Nova withdrew from the Fringe in 2008, citing costs and loss of sponsorship, and the space was not used in 2008. The space was revived in 2009, with The Arches at St Stephen's being planned for the 2009 festival. Prior to this, it also hosted the

Scottish Community Drama Association The Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) is an association of amateur dramatic clubs throughout Scotland. It was first founded in 1926. Amateur theatre companies in Scotland have generally presented repertoire in English Language, Englis ...

's 1963 Festival.An Edinburgh University Show from 1963 with St Stephens listed as the venue
/ref> In 2014, the building was for sale, with considerable speculation that it could be converted it into an arts centre with spaces for live music, dance and theatre.Edinburgh’s St Stephen’s Church could be arts HQ
''The Scotsman.''

References

External links

Current floorplan, as published in 2014 schedule of sale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephens Stockbridge Edinburgh

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

Churches completed in 1827 19th-century Lutheran churches New Town, Edinburgh Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed churches in Edinburgh 1827 establishments in Scotland 19th-century church buildings in Scotland