Canongate Kirk
We came across this one by complete accident. It was the other side of the Tolbooth Tavern and so we thought we'd better give it a gander as we were in the area before we climbed the hill to the various monuments.
An interesting little 'kirk', it actually had a wooden sign stating the celebrities buried within its sacred walls. Alongside the statue dedicated to Robert Fergusson, we just had to go in and it seems we started a trend as many people followed us. Thanks to this kirkyard we discovered a few people we didn't know about, learnt a lot, and Ren found some new reading material, win win.
Canongate was founded in 1688 and construction finished in 1691. As at the time it was its own burgh, the locals who had been using the Abbey Church opposite Holyrood House needed their own church for worship so King James VII ordered the construction of Canongate Kirk and promptly converted Holyrood Abbey into a chapel for newly formed Order of the Thistle.
Canongate as a whole then assimilated with Edinburgh in 1856 but by the 1970 the lower part of the Royal Mile including this former burgh had simply gone out of fashion. The area was rundown, population was declining, people just weren't interested in this part of Edinburgh anymore. Thus the kirk was threatened with closure which was heavily fought by the minister and his congregation. Subsequently, efforts were made to improve the area bringing it back into the public eye. New flats were built as well as the new Scottish Parliament building. The church remained traditional and proud, and continues to be open and a staple of Edinburgh's Old Town.
In more modern times, it was this church that hosted the wedding of the Queen's granddaughter Zara to Mike Tindall.
In terms of the celebs which now call this kirkyard home, Adam Smith, Dugald Steward, Agnes Maclehose, David Rizzo, and Robert Fergusson are the most notable. At least two of these people have connections to Robert Burns, Agnes being Clarinda. But we'll touch on Mr Fergusson in our next post. Watch this space for more on the others, we'll be returning to Edinburgh in 2026 (we hope!) and hope to visit their graves to pay our respects which will allow us to share their history with you.
We never went into the church itself as we weren't 100% sure if Yogi could attend, but if we manage it next time then we'll update our insta stories with a peek.
There is no doubt in our mind that this kirkyard is haunted. The dilapidated monuments, gravesites, and tombs lead us to this conclusion from the aesthetic they carry, but there is also a chill here that only a graveyard can carry. We'd like to think that Robert Fergusson continues his poems here to an audience of the dead and that many an intelligent conversation can be had among the tombstones.
Absolutely visit this kirk in Old Town if you can, the kirkyard alone is worth wandering through if anything. See who's grave you can visit and immortalise those memorials in photos!
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