South Leith Parish Church

South Leith Parish Church
The Constitution Street side of the church
Coordinates: 55°58′19″N 3°10′22″W / 55.97194°N 3.17278°W / 55.97194; -3.17278
Location	Between Constitution Street and the Kirkgate, near the bottom of the Leith Walk in Leith, Edinburgh's harbour district
Country	Scotland
Denomination	Church of Scotland
Website	http://www.slpc.co.uk/html/aboutus_church.html
History
Former name(s)	St Mary's
Founded	1487
Architecture
Status	Church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Category A listed
Specifications
Capacity	c.1400
Materials	stone

South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home (author of Douglas) and , the man from whom the author Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly derived the character of Blind Pew in the novel Treasure Island. The church has been repaired, used as a magazine and reconstructed but still looks similar to its appearance on a 1608 seal.

The church has a long history although most of the visible building is more recent. The church began as a chapel dedicated to St Mary which was erected in 1483 and dedicated in 1487. (From the twelfth century South Leith had been part of the parish of Restalrig and had no church of its own.) As part of the dedication King James III of Scotland gave 18 shillings to the kirk.

In 1544 the church was used as a refuge for people displaced by the fighting when the English attacked Leith as part of the Rough Wooing when the English attacked Scotland to try to encourage a marriage between the infant Mary, Queen of Scots and the English prince. Refuge was required as Henry VIII of England had ordered that Leith should be burnt. In the following year the Protestant martyr, George Wishart preached at the church and John Knox is thought to have been amongst those who came to listen. In 1547 the church was again involved in the struggle between the invading English and the Scots when the English used the church as a makeshift prison for Scottish nobles.

In 1559, Mary of Guise, the regent of Scotland, worshipped at this church. Her coat of arms is displayed in the entrance of the church today. Mary had fortified the town and she was in Leith being guarded by the thousands of French troops stationed here.