St. George's Church, Edinburgh
| St Andrew's and St George's West Church | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 55°57′14.5″N 03°11′45″W / 55.954028°N 3.19583°WCoordinates: 55°57′14.5″N 03°11′45″W / 55.954028°N 3.19583°W | |
| Location | Edinburgh |
| Country | Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of Scotland |
| Churchmanship | Reformed |
| Website | standrewsandstgeorges.org.uk |
| History | |
| Founded | 1781 |
| Dedication | Saint Andrew |
| Events | Disruption of 1843 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Category A listed building |
| Designated | 13 January 1766 |
| Completed | 1784 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Edinburgh New Town |
| Presbytery | Edinburgh |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | Ian Y. Gilmour |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Brigitte Harris |
St Andrew's and St George's West Church serves Edinburgh's New Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish today constitutes the whole of the First New Town of Edinburgh and a small part of the early-19th-century Second New Town of Edinburgh. The church building was completed in 1784, and is now protected as a category A listed building.
Two churches, St Andrew's and St George's, were planned as principal elements in the New Town of Edinburgh. James Craig's plan of 1767 for the First New Town laid out a grid pattern of streets reflecting classical order and rationalism. It was the age of the Scottish Enlightenment, and Edinburgh was becoming internationally renowned as the centre of new philosophy and thought. The two churches were intended to be built on Charlotte Square (originally to be named St George Square), at the west end of George Street, and St Andrew Square at the east end. However, Sir Lawrence Dundas, a wealthy businessman, preferred the eastern site for his home and bought the ground before Craig's plan could be implemented. St. Andrew's Church had to be built part-way along George Street, and its place was taken by Dundas House, designed by Sir William Chambers.
The Town Council held a competition for a design for the eastern church, St Andrew's, which was won by Captain Andrew Frazer of the Royal Engineers and Robert Kay. The church was founded in 1781 and opened in 1784. The church is notable for its elliptical plan which was the first in Britain. The site on the north side of George Street was already developed when the Town Council bought it back to establish the Church, and this shallow space suited the elliptical design. There are similarities to William Adam's design for Hamilton Old Parish Church and to James Gibbs' original idea for St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, both of which were circular sanctuaries fronted with porticoes. The architectural style reflects the contemporary 18th-century fashion for classical Roman forms. These include the temple-front portico with ceiling rosettes based on examples found in Syria by Robert Wood and illustrated in his Ruins of Palmyra of 1753. The magnificent interior-ceiling design, in the style of Robert Adam, also incorporates many features found in Roman and Pompeian interior design, as well as Scottish thistles. The pulpit stands on the north wall, with a panelled gallery with original box pews round the other sides of the ellipse. The pulpit was lowered and the sounding board removed during a 1953 refurbishment, with sections of 19th century box pews removed during 2012 refurbishments.
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