St Michael's Parish Church is one of the largest burgh churches in the Church of Scotland. It is one of two parishes serving the West Lothian county town of Linlithgow, the other being St Ninian's Craigmailen. St Michael is the town's patron saint; the town's motto is "St Michael is kinde to strangers".
The date at which a church was established in Linlithgow is unknown but given that by the 12th century the church at Linlithgow was richly endowed, with multiple daughter chapels, Rev John Ferguson, the Victorian/Edwardian historian of St Michaels, inferred that it was considerably older than the 12th century. [1]
King David I of Scotland granted a charter for the establishment of the church in 1138. The church was built on the site of the older church and was consecrated in 1242. Following a fire in 1424, most of the present building dates from the 15th century. James IV visited building work at the quire in July 1506 and gave the master mason a tip of 9 shillings. [2] Parts of the Church of St Michael were brought into use as they were completed, and the church was completed in 1540. The building was extensively restored in the 19th century.
Built immediately to the south of Linlithgow Palace, the church was much favoured as a place of worship by Scottish Kings and Queens. Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie included in his chronicle a story that, in the weeks before the Battle of Flodden, when James IV and his courtiers were in the church, a mysterious old man with a staff and a blue gown appeared and advised him not to go to war or listen to the advice of women. [3]
Mary, Queen of Scots, was born in Linlithgow Palace on 8 December 1542 and was baptised in St Michael's Church. In 1559, at an early stage of the Scottish Reformation, the Protestant Lords of the Congregation destroyed the statues adorning the exterior and interior of the church as signs of "popishness", and defaced the statue of St Michael which formed part of the structure. [4] Only the statue of St Michael survives: visible at the top of the outer south-west buttress.
Following the Reformation, the interior of the church was reordered. Some traces of pre-Reformation artefacts can still be detected. In 1646, Oliver Cromwell's troops stabled their horses within the nave. Following the departure of the troops, considerable restoration was required.
By the early 19th century, the church was in a very poor physical condition. Although repairs were made, many of the historic features of the church were destroyed, the interior walls were whitewashed, a plaster ceiling replaced a fine 16th-century one and in 1820–21 the stone Crown Tower (a crown steeple similar to that of St Giles' Cathedral) had to be dismantled and removed. Rev Archibald Scott introduced the first church organ in 1871 (following the "Crieff Organ Case" of 1867), and also removed the whitewash from the walls. [5]
While other repairs were completed and the church was rededicated in 1896, the tower was too weakened for restoration of the original crown steeple.
By the late 19th century tastes had changed radically, with the installation of the church's first post-Reformation stained glass windows. In 1964, an aluminium crown designed by Geoffrey Clarke was installed (replacing the Crown Tower removed in 1821). [6]
Four consecutive ministers served as Moderator: [7]
The church has been served by some notable former ministers, including the Very Revd Dr David Steel (father of the politician David Steel) who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1974. Rev Dr Liam Fraser was inducted as St Michael's Minister on 14 November 2019.
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, 15 miles (24 km) west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the palace was little used, and was burned out in 1746. It is now a visitor attraction in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
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 alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the addition of the Thistle Chapel. St Giles' is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, including John Knox, who served as the church's minister after the Scottish Reformation.
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Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, located adjacent to Holyrood Park in Duddingston Village, on the east side of the City of Edinburgh. Regular services are held at the kirk, conducted by the minister, Rev Dr James A. P. Jack.
Dundee Parish Church is located in the east section of Dundee's "City Churches", the other being occupied by the Steeple Church. Both are congregations in the Church of Scotland, although with differing styles of worship.
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 Edinburgh and Falkirk beside Linlithgow Loch. The town is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Edinburgh.
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Robert Douglas (1594–1674) was the only minister of the Church of Scotland to be Moderator of the General Assembly five times.
The Collegiate Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Church of Scotland parish church in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland.
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A crown steeple, or crown spire, is a traditional form of church steeple in which curved stone flying buttresses form the open shape of a rounded crown. Crown spires first appeared in the Late Gothic church architecture in England and Scotland during the Late Middle Ages, continued to be built through the 17th century and reappeared in the late 18th century as part of the Gothic Revival.
St Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Linlithgow is situated in the historic town of Linlithgow. The present church is situated at the East end of the town near the Low Port. It is located beside the banks of Linlithgow loch and close to the old palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born. Next to the palace is the Parish Church of St Michael's the original seat of the Catholic Church prior to the reformation. This brief history chronicles the Catholic Church in Linlithgow from inception to the present day.
Corstorphine Old Parish Church, formerly St. John's Collegiate Church, is at the old centre of Corstorphine, a village incorporated to the west area of Edinburgh. Built in the 15th century, in the churchyard of a 12th-century or earlier chapel, the former collegiate church was listed category A by Historic Scotland on 14 December 1970.
Henry Moncreiff-Wellwood 8th Baronet of Tullibole FRSE was both a baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and minister of the Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1785. At age only 35 he was one of the youngest-ever moderators. He served as Chaplain to King George III in Scotland.
Patrick Clason was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church of Scotland in 1848/49.
James Montgomery Campbell (1859-1937) was a Scottish clergyman who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1928.
Archibald Scott (1837–1909) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1896.
George Hamilton of Cairns (1635–1712) was a Church of Scotland minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1699.
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