Gillis College
| Gillis Centre | |
|---|---|
|
Front of Gillis Centre showing St. Margaret's Chapel
|
|
 Gillis Centre
Location of Gillis Centre within Edinburgh
|
|
| Coordinates: 55°56′06″N 3°12′02″W / 55.934924°N 3.200504°W | |
| Location | Edinburgh |
| Country | UK |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | GillisCentre.org.uk |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St. Margaret's Convent, Gillis College |
| Founded | 1834 |
| Founder(s) | Bishop Gillis |
| Dedication | St Margaret of Scotland |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Conference and Accommodation Centre |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Category A listed building |
| Designated | 14 December 1970 |
| Architect(s) | James Gillespie Graham and E. W. Pugin |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Completed | 1863 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St. Peter's, Morningside |
| Deanery | St Giles' City of Edinburgh |
| Archdiocese | St. Andrews and Edinburgh |
| Province | St. Andrews and Edinburgh |
Gillis Centre, formerly Gillis College, is a complex of buildings situated close to the city centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. The history of the site can be traced back to the 15th century. The original building housed many literary figures of the eighteenth century, from 1834 it served as a convent and from 1986 to 1993 it was Gillis College, the seminary for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. It currently serves as a conference and residential centre for the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
The site of the present Gillis Centre was originally known as 'Whitehouse' and gave its name to the lane that runs alongside it, Whitehouse Loan. The house had many literary and academic occupants and must have had a connection with the University of Edinburgh, because it was there that some of the university's leading figures wrote various pieces of literature. Such as Principal Robertson who wrote his The History and Reign of Charles V in 1769. In 1756 John Home wrote his tragedy Douglas there and in 1783 Dr. Hugh Blair wrote his famous Lectures.
The ecclesiastical history of the site goes back to 1834 with the founding by Bishop James Gillis of the first post-Reformation convent in Scotland. For over 150 years it was well known in Edinburgh as St Margaret's Convent and School under the ministry of the Ursulines of Jesus. In the 1830s, the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland was not yet established. James Gillis as Apostolic Vicar of the Eastern District of Scotland wanted a convent and school built there to cater for the Catholics in Edinburgh. The Ursulines were asked to start a convent and funds were provided for a chapel. In 1863, this chapel went on to house a relic, given to them by Bishop Gillis, of St. Margaret of Scotland.
...
Wikipedia