Greyfriars' Church

or to give it its full name

Greyfriars' Tolbooth & Highland Kirk

 

Engravings

 Engraving in 'Modern Athens' - Greyfriars Church ©

Modern Athens - 1829

Greyfriars' Church

 Engraving from 'Old & New Edinburgh' - Greyfriars Church ©

Old & New Edinburgh - 1890

Greyfriars' Church

 

Postcard

Postcard by unidentified publisher - Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriar's Churchyard ©

Unidentified Publisher

Edinburgh Castle
 from Greyfriars' Church

 Postcard by unidentified publisher - Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriar's Churchyard ©

POST CARD
 Unidentified Photographer

  Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriars - A postcard by W & A K Johnston ©

POST CARD
 W & A K Johnston

Raphael Tuck "Oilette" postcard - Castle from Greyfriar's Church ©

POST CARD
 Tuck's "Oilette"

 

Greyfriars' Churchyard

Stereo View

A stereo view by an unidentified photographer - The Martyrs' Tomb, Greyfriars' Churchyard ©

The Martyrs' Tomb

 

Photos from the Edinburgh Survey Section Albums

Compiled around 1914

EPS Survey Section photograph - Greyfriars Churchyard and Tollbooth St John's Church - DO Hill, 1843-45 ©

DO Hill  -  1843-45

Greyfriars Churchyard and
Tollbooth St John's Church

EPS Survey Section photograph - Ruins of Greyfriars Church, following the fire of 1845 - DO Hill, 1845-47 ©

DO Hill  -  1845-7

Greyfriars Church Ruins - 1

EPS Survey Section photograph - Ruins of Greyfriars Church, following the fire of 1845 - DO Hill, 1845-47 ©

DO Hill  -  1845-47

Greyfriars Church Ruins - 2

EPS Survey Section photograph - Greyfriars Churchyard - Gravestone/Monument against the SE Wall - JC Mckechnie, 1912 ©

JC Mckechnie  -  1912

Greyfriars Churchyard
Gravestone/Monument
against SE wall

EPS Survey Section photograph - Greyfriars Churchyard, East Division - JC Mckechnie, 1912 ©

JC Mckechnie  -  1912

Greyfriars Churchyard
East Division

EPS Survey Section photograph - Greyfriars Church - JC Mckechnie, 1912 ©

JC Mckechnie  -  1912

Greyfriars Church

EPS Survey Section photograph - Greyfriars Churchyard and Lodge - JC Mckechnie, 1912 ©

JC Mckechnie  -  1912

Greyfriars Churchyard
and Lodge

EPS Survey Section photograph - Greyfriars Churchyard Lodge - JC Mckechnie, 1912 ©

JC Mckechnie  -  1912

Greyfriars Churchyard Lodge

EPS Survey Section photograph - Entrance to Greyfriars Church - JR Hamilton, 1914 ©

JR Hamilton  -  1914

Entrance to
Greyfriar's Church

 

Recent Photos

2005 - 2010

   Greyfriars' Church following restoration - 2005 ©

Greyfriars' Kirk

   ©

Greyfriars' Kirk and
Greyfriars' Bobby Tombstone

Greyfriars' Kirk and graveyard ©

Greyfriars' Kirk and graveyard

Greyfriars' Kirk and graveyard ©

Greyfriars' Kirk and graveyard in snow

Greyfriars' Kirk and graveyard ©

Greyfriars' Kirk and graveyard in snow

Greyfriar's Church in the snow - November 2010 ©

Greyfriars' Kirk and graveyard in snow

Gravestone to Greyfriar's Bobby at Greyfriar's Church ©

Greyfriars' Bobby Tombstone

Greyfriars' Bobby Tombstone

Ceremony  -  January 14, 2011

   Laying a Wreath at Greyfriars Bobby's Tombstone ©

Greyfriars' Bobby's Tombstone
Laying the Wreath

Guard of Honour for Layiing the Wreath Ceremony at Greyfriars Bobby's Tombstone ©

Greyfriars' Bobby's Ceremony
Guard of Honour at Entrance

Colour Sergeant Scott and Skye Terrier Bleu, near the entrance to Greyfriars' Kirk at the top of Candlemaker Row ©

Greyfriars' Bobby's Ceremony
Skye Terrier

Field Gun and army truck outside Greyfriars' Bobby's Bar for the ceremony to Greyfriars' BObby in Greyfriars' Churchyard ©

Greyfriars' Bobby's Bar
+ Field Gun + Truck

Field Gun and Guard of Honour outside Greyfriars' Bobby's Bar for the ceremony to Greyfriars' Bobby in Greyfriars' Churchyard ©

Greyfriars' Bobby's Bar
+ Field Gun + Guard of Honour

Field Gun outside Greyfriars' Bobby's Bar for the ceremony to Greyfriars' Bobby in Greyfriars' Churchyard ©

Greyfriars' Bobby's Bar
+ Field Gun

   Professional photogarphers take photos of Colour Sergeant Scott leading his Skye Terrier, 'Bue' out of Greyfriars Kirkyard, following a cemetery to place a wreath on Greyfriars' Bobby's grave. ©

Greyfriars' Bobby's Ceremony
Photographers

 

Greyfriars' Churchyard

Performance of Shakespeare's play: 'Macbeth'

2007

A scene from Frantic Redhead Productions' play 'Macbeth' - Edinburgh Fringe Festival, August 2007 ©

A scene from Frantic Redhead Productions' play 'Macbeth' - Edinburgh Fringe Festival, August 2007 ©

A scene from Frantic Redhead Productions' play 'Macbeth' - Edinburgh Fringe Festival, August 2007 ©

 

Greyfriars' Kirk

New Year's Day

2017

Greyfriars Church - Organ Pipes at the West End of the Church ©

Organ Pipes

Stained Glass Windows on the east wall of the church ©

Stained Glass Windows

Stained Glass Windows on the east wall of the church, zoom-in ©

Stained Glass Windows  -  zoom-in

Stained Glass Windows on the east wall of the church, zoom-out ©

Stained Glass Windows  -  zoom-ou

 

 

History

Greyfriars Tolbooth and Highland Kirk is named after the "grey friars" who frequented the church before the Reformation.

The church is now known as Greyfriars' Church or Greyfriars' Kirk.

It is most famous today for the legend of Greyfriars Bobby, the Skye terrier that returned and lay beside his master's grave, every day for fourteen years.

[Edinburgh Evening News,  26 June 2002  +  29 March 2003, p.11]

 

Old and New Churches

The original Greyfriars' Church was built between 1602 and 1620, but in 1718 it was partially wrecked when gunpowder stored in the church tower exploded.

Rather than just repair the original church, the town council commissioned plans for a second church (New Greyfriars') to be  built against the west end of the existing church.  The New Greyfriars' Church was opened in 1721.

The congregations of the old and new churches appear to have been separate until they became united in 1929.

 

Today

About ten years ago, a new organ was installed.  The church is now 2002 used for lectures, concerts  and recitals, and will soon benefit from a £1m grant from the National Lottery Fund, to be spent on renovating the roof, masonry and stained glass windows.

The exterior stonework of the church used to be coloured yellow "ochre".  It is now being restored to its original colour.

[Edinburgh Evening News,  26 June 2002  AND  29 March 2003, p.11]

 

 

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