Dirleton Kirk

Dirleton Kirk is situated to the north of the village green in Dirleton, in East Lothian, Scotland. Dirleton village lies on the south shore of the Firth of Forth 21 miles east of Edinburgh and two miles west of North Berwick on the A198 road. The church is at grid reference NT512842.

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 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, an island off Dirleton; that chapel or priory was dedicated to St. Nicholas. The monks travelled to and from the island via a ferry, a nearby farm is still known as the Ferrygate.

Around the same time, The de Vaux family founded a chapel, dedicated to All Saints, in Dirleton. Then, in 1444, the Haliburton's, now the lords of Dirleton Castle founded a College of priests at their church in Dirleton. The old church at Gullane continued beyond the Reformation 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. In 1576, Andrew McGhie, the last vicar at Gullane St. Andrews was reproved by King James VI for his excessive use of tobacco.

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"

...
Wikipedia