North Leith Parish Church is one of the oldest churches in Edinburgh, with origins dating back to 1128, when it was named in the charter of Holyrood Abbey as the Church of St Cuthbert.
The earliest church building in North Leith was originally called St Ninian’s Chapel built in 1493 and was located the north-west bank of the Water of Leith on lands owned by Holyrood Abbey (now Quayside Street). Records from this time also suggest that there was a hospital chapel in North Leith dedicated to St Nicholas, and the associated graveyard was used until the 1600s.
St Ninian’s and St Nicholas’ fell into disrepair during the reformation, but a replacement church was opened in 1568. In 1606, the church was made a parish church by the Parliament of Scotland.
The St Ninian’s building remained in use until 1816, when the building where this cache is located was built to serve the needs of the growing congregation. The building was designed by William Burn who also designed the Edinburgh Academy and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The building was damaged during World War II in 1941, but repaired by 1950. It is now a category A listed building.
Since 1816, this building has been home to the North Leith congregation, and a number of other local churches have united with North Leith. These include Bonnington church in 1968, and Leith St Ninian’s Ferry Road church in 1982. The congregation continues to worship in this building at Madeira Street.
Useful and Important Information
- The cache itself is accessible from the street, and should not require you to enter the gated area.
- I think the cache should be reachable by wheelchair users (although I have not been able to test this personally). Please let me know if not, and I will increase the terrain rating.
- Parking is available in Maderia Street.
- Buses no 7, 14 and 21 all stop on Ferry Road within a short walk of this cache. The no 10, 11 and 16 also stop on nearby roads.
This cache has been placed with the kind permission of the Minister of North Leith Parish Church. For more information about the church, or to contact them, see the additional links above.
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro@gmail.com.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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