Trinity College Church as intact and sitting on Jeffrey Street in 1895

Trinity College Kirk was a

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

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 ...

, Scotland. The

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

and its adjacent

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by

Mary of Guelders Mary of Guelders (; c. 1434/1435 – 1 December 1463) was Queen of Scots by marriage to King James II. She ruled as regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463. Background She was the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Catherine of Clev ...

in memory of her husband, King James II who had been killed at the

siege of Roxburgh Castle The Capture of Roxburgh was a siege that took place in 1314, which was a major conflict in the First War of Scottish Independence. This siege was a prelude to the Battle of Bannockburn. Background Sir James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, after his ...

that year. Queen Mary was interred in the church, until her coffin was moved to

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a List of British royal residences, royal r ...

in 1848. The original church design was never completed. Only the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

(with aisles) and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s were completed. The church was located in the valley between the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

and

Calton Hill Calton Hill (; ) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and f ...

, but was systematically dismantled in 1848 due to the construction of

Waverley Station Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; ) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East C ...

on its site. Although its stones were numbered in anticipation of rebuilding and were stored in a yard on Calton Hill, by 1872, when a replacement church was built on the newly formed Jeffrey Street, only a third were left which were used to construct a version of the choir and apse which was the hall of the new church.

Style

The church was built of local sandstone from a quarry which was discovered only 500m to the west at the site of the

Scott Monument The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second-largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opp ...

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. It was created in the cosmopolitan Scottish late Gothic style. As was the taste of the time, water was discharged from the roof via

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

s. Unusually it is said the church had several monkeys within its decorations.

Foundation

Trinity College comprised Trinity College Church, Trinity Hospital, and the Manses of the Prebendaries. The foundation of the college was for a provost, eight

prebendaries A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir s ...

and two clerks each being assigned particular benefices and land for their support. Income was derived from several sources in Scotland, either by the endowment of

(from her own allotted incomes), or added later. Incomes were received from Uthrogal, a leper colony at Monimail in Fife, and the parish church of Easter Wemyss in Fife. In 1502 a Dean and Sub-Dean were appointed, their stipends paid from the parish of Dunnottar in

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...

. In 1529 incomes were added from the parishes of

Soutra Soutra Aisle, (the present structure lies just within the boundary of the Scottish Borders from Midlothian) not far from Fala, is the remains of the ''House of the Holy Trinity'', a church that was part of a complex comprising a hospital and a ...

, Fala, Lampetlaw,

Kirkurd Kirkurd is a parish in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 3 miles south-east of Dolphinton and 6 miles north-east of Broughton. Tarth Water, a tributary of Lyne Water (itself a tributary of the River Tweed) forms the northern bounda ...

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 173 ...

and

Gogar Gogar is a predominantly rural area of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the west of the city. It is not far from Gogarloch, Edinburgh Park and Maybury. The Fife Circle Line is to the north. Etymology The name of Gogar first appears in a cle ...

Early history

The church and hospital of

Soutra Aisle Soutra Aisle, (the present structure lies just within the boundary of the Scottish Borders from Midlothian) not far from Fala, Midlothian, Fala, is the remains of the ''House of the Holy Trinity'', a church that was part of a complex comprising ...

dedicated to the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, was held as a

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

of the chancellor of

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

.Cowan & Easson, ''Medieval Religious Houses'', p. 192 In 1459/60 the chancellorship was vacant allowing the

dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the n ...

queen to supplicate

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

for the annexation of Soutra to her Trinity College foundation – the sanctioning

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

was published on 23 October 1460. Queen

(widow of James II) issued a

Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

on 25 March 1462 detailing the constitution for Trinity College in which the

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

was to hold Soutra church as a prebend but had to maintain three

bedesmen Bedesman, or beadsman (Middle English , , from the Old English , ; ; and from the Anglo-Saxon ), was generally a pensioner or almsman whose duty was to pray for his benefactor. Function A beadsman (or beadswoman) in Medieval times occupied thei ...

in the Soutra hospital.

John Halkerston John Halkerston was a Scottish architect, prominent in the 15th century. He was Master of Works at Trinity College Kirk, Edinburgh, in the 1460s. Around the same time, he worked on St John's Kirk, in Perth, the northwest porch of which is now n ...

was made Master of Works. In August 1463 Pope

Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

declared by

Papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

that religious visitors to the church during the feast of the Holy Trinity on 10 July and the following eight days, over the next five years, would be granted a plenary indulgence, if they contributed to the fund for completion of the building according to their financial ability. The money was to be put in a locked box with two keys kept by the Provost and the Papal Collector for Scotland. A third of the receipts were to be given to the Catholic church for its general work. The church was famed for its triptych altarpiece by

Hugo van der Goes Hugo van der Goes ( – 1482) was a Flemish painter who was one of the most significant and original Early Netherlandish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced i ...

completed in 1479, now displayed in the

National Gallery of Scotland The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Playfa ...

. The four surviving panels depict James III, King of Scots, flanked by

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

and his son, the future

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

, and his wife, Margaret of Denmark. The donor, the first Provost of the Trinity foundation, Edward Bonkil, and his coat of arms also feature. Early records of the construction of the church are lost. In 1463 a steward of Mary of Guelders,

Henry Kinghorn Henry Kinghorn or de Kingorne was a Scottish clergyman, courtier, and steward or seneschal to Mary of Guelders, the wife of James II of Scotland. He also held the financial office of Chamberlain in Garioch and Brechin. Most of what is known of his ...

paid the master of works John Halkerston for one account of his building work at Trinity Kirk. On 8 April 1531 the Provost Master John Dingwall contracted with a mason Robert Dennis that Dennis would work to complete the building for his lifetime. Dingwall wished to complete the church conforming to the choir. To help finance the building,

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

wrote to the Pope

Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate of ...

asking if Dingwall could grant

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

to visitors to the church and college on the feast of Holy Trinity and

Octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

who made contributions to the work. After Dingwall's death in 1533, the masons pursued his legacy left for completing the work. Only the apse, choir and transepts were finished. A nearby house, demolished in 1642, was called "Dingwall Castle" probably after the Provost Master. After the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...

in 1560 the church as a building passed from religious control to the Crown. Apparently the church was unused until November 1567 when the whole of the property attaching to Trinity Kirk and Hospital was passed by

Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scot ...

to the Provost of Edinburgh,

Simon Preston of Craigmillar Simon Preston of Craigmillar (c. 1510 – c. 1570) was Provost of Edinburgh during the years 1565 to 1569 and was a member of the Privy Council of Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Political career Simon Preston was invol ...

who then passed it to the community of Edinburgh for the purposes of a hospital for the poor and infirm. Building materials for alterations were to be brought from the demolished Blackfriars monastery to the south. The master of work for building the new hospital, Adam Fullarton, sold stones, lime, and sand in the Blackfriars kirkyard to the masons Thomas Jackson and Murdoch Walker. In April 1568 the council sent four men, including Nicol Uddert, to find charitable donations for the hospital. The endowed income of the altar of Saint James in Saint Giles' Kirk was promised to the Hospital in 1568. This included the rents of houses at the Overbow and Castlehill. The provosts (ending with

Robert Pont Robert Pont (the abbreviated form of Kylpont or Kynpont) (1529–1606) was a Church of Scotland minister, judge and reformer. He was a church minister, commissioner and a Senator of the College of Justice. His translation of the Helvetian ...

) continued to have a financial interest in the structure until 1585. For about seventeen years it appears that the church was the church for the hospital until in 1584 it was made the official church serving the north-east quarter of Edinburgh. This lasted until closure.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott From 1813 to 1833, the minister of Trinity College was the Rev. Walter Tait. In 1833 it was reported that he ''"had given countenance to certain extraordinary interruptions of public worship in his church on the Monday immediately after the communion by a person pretending to speak in the spirit"''. That person was said to be 'the apostle'

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

. Tait was deposed in that year and went on to become the pastor of the

Catholic Apostolic Church The Catholic Apostolic Church (CAC), also known as the Irvingian Church or Irvingite Church, is a Christian denomination, denomination in the Restorationist branch of Christianity. It originated in Scotland around 1831 and later spread to Germa ...

in Edinburgh, until his death in 1841.

Dismantling and reconstruction

Trinity College Kirk from Chalmers Close

In 1844 the

North British Railway The North British Railway was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, ...

received its Act of Parliament giving it the power of compulsory purchase over property in the area of its proposed railway station. This led to the demolition of the Trinity College Kirk and its Hospital, the nearby

Lady Glenorchy's Church Lady Glenorchy's Church or Chapel in Edinburgh was a church founded in the 18th century by Willielma Campbell, Viscountess Glenorchy. It was made a quoad sacra parish, ''quoad sacra'' parish in 1837. History The chapel was founded by Willielm ...

and the Orphan Hospital of Edinburgh. The Act required the North British to rebuild and restore the Church exactly as they had found it or, alternatively, they could choose to provide to the Town Council, as trustees of the charity, a sum of money in compensation. The

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

kirk, and its associated hospital, were demolished in 1848 under the supervision of the Edinburgh architect

David Bryce David Bryce Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE FRIBA Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scotland, Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David B ...

, despite a formal protest from the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...

, to allow for the construction of

David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dama ...

photographed the kirk before its demise. To enable any future rebuilding, the stones of the church were numbered prior to demolition and stored on a site on Calton Hill. However, the railway company chose the latter alternative and payed to the Town Council the sum of £18000 which had been estimated as the cost of rebuilding. In the event, due to delays caused by litigation before the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

and the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, nothing was done for nearly thirty years during which time much of the stored stones were stolen. As most of the congregation left, joining the Free Church, those remaining in the established Church of Scotland following the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...

, only about eighty members, were allocated the Calton Convening Rooms on Waterloo Place as a temporary place of worship. Around 1857 the Town Council moved them to John Knox's Free Church at the Netherbow (close to the eventually built replacement church) and in 1861 moved them to a corner of the internally divided

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

. The chosen site for the replacement church was on the newly created Jeffrey Street which had been developed in terms of the City Improvement Schemes. The church was the first building on the street. The church opened for worship to the long-displaced congregation in October 1877 and held up to 900 people. The medieval font from the original church was repositioned in the church just before reopening. The new church fronting Jeffrey Street was wholly new and was designed by

John Lessels John Lessels (9 January 1809 – 12 November 1883) was a Scottish architect and artist, active in Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders (particularly in the former county of Berwickshire). Life He was born and educated in Kirkcaldy, Fife, and ...

. The remaining salvaged stones (about one third) from the original College Church were used to construct a version of the original choir and apse (called the Trinity Apse) attached to the rear of the new church and served as the hall of the church. In the 1960s, Lessels' church was demolished for an office development leaving the Trinity Apse in isolation on Chalmers Close. The office development has since been converted to a hotel. In the 1980s Trinity Apse housed the Edinburgh Brass Rubbing Centre, under the auspices of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

. The rebuilt Apse, together with carved stone fragments and the boundary wall, is registered 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 ...

. Statuary and stone ornament from the church stand in the gardens of

Craigcrook Castle Craigcrook Castle is a castle giving its name to the Craigcrook district of Edinburgh, about west of the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. The castle is primarily of the 17th century, though with later additions. In the 19th century, it was the ...

in west Edinburgh (but it is unclear if these were moved at the point of demolition or "salvaged" during the period of being dismantled).

List of provosts

*Sir Edward Bonkle or Bonkel: 1462 – 1495 x 1496 *James Oliphant: 1499 – 1525 *John Brady: 1502 – 1525 *John Dingwall: 1525 – 1532 x 1533 (given a seat in the Scottish parliament in 1526) *William Cunningham: 1533 – 1539 *Thomas Erskine: 1539 *Robert Erskine: 1539 – 1540 *George Clapperton: 1540 – 1566 *Laurence Clapperty: 1566 – 1571 x 1572 *

: 1572 – 1585, who was paid 300

merks The merk () is a long-obsolete Scotland, Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a Mark (currency), money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 1 ...

to resign the office to the town.

James David Marwick Sir James David Marwick FRSE (15 July 1826 – 24 March 1908) was a Scottish lawyer, historian and town clerk. He served as Town Clerk of Glasgow for thirty-one years, during which time the entire city was transformed. Its powers and amenities ...

, ''Extracts from the records of the Burgh of Edinburgh: 1573-1589'' (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 433. Source: Watt & Murray ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''

List of ministers

Note: One of the founding members of the

College of Justice The College of Justice () includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, ...

, John Dingwall, was Provost of Trinity College; and several

Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland List of moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is a complete list of moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from the Reformation to the present day. The location of the parish or other post during the m ...

came from the Trinity College Kirk: *1598 to 1616 - Walter Balcanquhal (1548-1617) *1626 to 1634 -

Thomas Sydserf Thomas Sydserf(f), or St. Serf, (1581 – 1663) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who served as Protestant Bishop first of Brechin, then Galloway and finally Orkney. Life The eldest son of James Sydserf, an Edinburgh mercha ...

(1581-1666) *1639 to 1641 -

William Colvill William Colvill, sometimes spelt William Colville (c.1612–1675) was a 17th-century Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland and scholar and was the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1662 to 1675. Life Colvill was educated ...

MA, translated to the

Tron Kirk The Tron Kirk is a former principal parish church in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a well-known landmark on the Royal Mile. It was built in the 17th century and closed as a church in 1952. Having stood empty for over fifty years, it was used ...

in 1641 *1644 to 1648 - Robert Laurie, translated to the

in 1648 *1649 to 1660 - Hew McKail/Hugh McKaile (d.1660) *1661 to 1667 - John Glennie (as assistant minister) went to

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

in Ireland *1662 to 1673 - Joshua Meldrum (d.1673) buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

*1673 to 1675 - Andrew Cant *1674 to 1678 - Robert Laurie MA (d.1678) *1679 to 1689 - Andrew Cant (nephew of previous Andrew Cant?) *1687 to 1692 - Hugh Kennedie AM (Moderator of the General Assembly 1690-1692) *1692 to ? - John Moncrieff (d.1709) *1714 to 1756 - James Bannatine (d.1756) Moderator of the General Assembly in 1739 *1756 to 1799 - Henry Lundie *1799 to 1801 - David Dickson *1802 to 1804 - Robert Anderson *1804 to 1810 - Robert MacKnight *1810 to 1813 - Rev Dr Andrew Grant DD *1813 to 1833 - Walter Tait (1771-1841) moved to the

*1834 to 1843 - William Cunningham (1805-1861) Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland in 1859 *1843 to 1857 - William Steven (d.1857) second charge since 1829 and Headmaster of

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a private primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Lauriston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. It was ...

-minister of congregation in various temporary venues *1857 to 1860 - William Smith minister of congregation in temporary venues *1860 to 1868 - Robert Wallace, minister to the relocated church on Jeffrey St *1869 to 1870 - Cornelius Griffen, at Jeffrey St *1879 to 1908 - Alexander Kennedy (1840-1908) at Jeffrey St *1908 to ? - William Main (b.1867) *1936 to 1958 - William Wilson Morrell (1898-1958) at Jeffrey St (The last minister before the demolition of Jeffrey St)

Second charge

Not only was the church large enough to need two ministers but (more unusually) the second charge ministers often obtained fame in their own right including at least one rising to be

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

. This is unique to Trinity College Church. This second charge was operational from 1597 to 1782, when the building of

St Andrew's Church St. Andrew's Church, Church of St Andrew, or variants thereof, may refer to: Albania * St. Andrew's Church, Himarë Australia Australian Capital Territory * St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Canberra, founded by John Walker (Presbyterian minis ...

in the New Town took a large section of the congregation, no longer necessitating second services. Notable second charges were: * 1597 to 1604 - George Robertson, son of Patrick Robertson, Regent of Edinburgh University * 1625 to 1628 - John Maxwell MA, translated from St Giles * 1628 to 1629 - Henry Rollock MA translated to

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Kirk () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edinburgh, f ...

* !634 to 1640 - James Elliot MA DD * 1641 to 1647 - William Bennet MA, his son George Bennet became a baronet in 1671 * 1648 to 1662 - John Smith (d.1667) captured by English Army in 1651 * 1663 to 1668 - Alexander Cairncross (b.1637) * 1668 to 1689 - John MacQueen (d.1733) also Sub Dean of Chapel Royal * 1701 to 1708 - Archibald Riddell (1635-1708) son of Sir Walter Riddell, prisoner on

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, at its highest point, and is home ...

and minister in USA * 1710 to 1719 - James Grierson (1662-1732) Moderator in 1719 (the second Second Charge to become Moderator) * 1732 to 1755 - George Logan (1678-1755) Moderator in 1740 (the third Second Charge to become Moderator) * 1758 to 1782 - Rev Dr Robert Dick DD MA (1722-1792)

Notable burials

In the floor of the original kirk: *

(1463) re-interred at

in 1840 *Bishop

Thomas Spens Thomas Spens ''de Spens(c. 1415–15 April 1480), Scottish statesman and prelate, received his education at Edinburgh, was the second son of John de Spens, custodian of Prince James of Scotland, and of Lady Isabel Wemyss. Biography By ...

(d.1480) *Lady Sophia Ruthven (1592) first wife of

Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond (29 September 157416 February 1624) was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman and a second cousin of King James VI and I. He was involved in court theatre and the Plantation of Ulster in ...

*Lady Jane Hamilton (1596) first wife of

Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton (c. 15311585) was a Scottish aristocrat who was a strong supporter of Mary Queen of Scots. He was an important participant in a tumultuous period of Scottish history. Early years Born in 1531, Montgomerie ...

Notes

References

* Colston, James, (1896/1897),''Trinity College and Trinity Hospital Edinburgh'', Magistrates and Town Council Edinburgh, Edinburgh, 2 Volumes. * Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., (1976), ''Medieval Religious Houses Scotland'', Longman, London. * Marwick, James, (1891), ''History of the Church of Holy Trinity and Hospital'', Edinburgh, Burgh Records Society, Edinburgh. * Watt, D.E.R.and Murray, A. L. (2003), ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae Medii Aevi Ad Annum 1638, The Scottish Record Society, Edinburgh.

External links

Photographs
of a communion plate, 2 communion cups and 2 communion flagons associated with Trinity College Kirk, Edinburgh;

National Museums Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; ) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, and holds internationally important collec ...

Archive of images
of the kirk, held by the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executive ...

Image of Trinity Hospital
held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

of a transept window,

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

Brass Rubbing Centre
the City of Edinburgh Museums & Galleries {{Authority control 1460 establishments in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed churches in Edinburgh Church of Scotland churches in Edinburgh Collegiate churches in Scotland Former churches in Scotland Royal Mile Tourist attractions in Edinburgh History of the University of Edinburgh Renaissance architecture in Scotland