#reliefchurch — Public Fediverse posts

The thread about St. Patrick and the 18th century Southside houses of Cabbage and Turnip

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so what better way to start a thread than with the below photo of Edinburgh’s St. Patrick Square in 1914 (n.b. the street names here are, and always have been, styled as St. Patrick and not St Patrick’s).

St. Patrick Square from the South, image from 1914 by J. R. Hamilton of the Edinburgh Photographic Society. Credit Edinburgh City Libraries

In the background of the picture, below the spire of the Buccleuch Free Church, is the original row of 18th century tenements of St. Patrick Street, for which the square is named. But why was a street in staunchly Presbyterian Edinburgh named for a Catholic saint, in deed one who is the Irish patron? Well the simple answer is it probably wasn’t. It was most likely named for local merchant and landowner Patrick Tod. This would not be the first or even the second saintly Edinburgh placename to have a strictly civic root (see also St. James’ Square, St. Ann Street etc.) Those original and now demolished tenements had been built in 1782 by William Archibald, a slater, who had acquired “five acres and a bit” of ground known as Cabbagehall from the late James Carfrae.

In the mid-18th century Cabbagehall was one of a number of feus (portions of land that had been split up from a larger one under the Scottish system of land tenure) to the south of the city that formed an early suburb outwith the confines of the ancient walls. Most of this suburb was villa houses with portions of market garden. The feuars here clearly had a practical sense of naming; other plots included Gairnshall, Huntershall, Summerhall, Orangehall and Turniphall.

Cabbagehall had been built in the garden of David Stevenson in 1734 and he lived there with his wife and daughter. He took the unusual step of conveying it to his daughter to provide her with an income from which she could maintain her father and stepmother in their dotage. The daughter – Elizabeth – was a widow but remarried a preacher called James Robertson who attempted (and failed) to run some sort of mission from Cabbagehall, pompously referring to himself as “Minister of the Gospel at the Collegehall“. In the 1780s Cabbagehall was the location of the public sale of municipal “street dung“. Those old tenements of St. Patrick Street were built on part of the Cabbagehall garden by Archibald.

Caledonian Mercury – Saturday 26 August 1780

The end tenement of the square, above the pend through to Buccleuch Place, was demolished in the 1970s. It is reputed to have been the final lodging place of Robert Burns during his time in the city.

St. Patrick Square, looking towards Buccleuch Place, then and now. The old tenement is reputed to have been the last lodging place of the poet Robert Burns in the city, it was demolished in the early 1970s. Original image from 1914 by J. R. Hamilton of the Edinburgh Photographic Society, © Edinburgh City Libraries

There were other Cabbagehalls in the east of Scotland; at Inveresk (near Musselburgh), Peebles and also an estate in Fife near Leslie, where there was a Laird of Cabbagehall. Turniphall however may have been a unique place name. It was further east, closer to the Pleasance, and tenements were built on it in 1758 by James Carfrae. Part of the Turniphall grounds were sold in 1786. The Nicholson referred to here is from the family who were the ancient landowners, and thus gave their name to Nicolson Street, Square etc. further to the north.

The Caledonian Mercury 22nd November 1786

Around 1777, the new road of Nicolson Street was pushed southwards through this district as a grand new road into the city and in doing so cut through the lands of Cabbagehall and Turniphall. The land to either side of the road was then progressively sub-fued to build new tenements. This planned road is shown below in Edgar’s 1765 Town Plan.

1765 Town plan by Edgar. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Kincaid’s Town Plan of 1784 shows that St. Patrick Square was not the original plan for this area, it had been intended to run Buccleuch Street further east to join up with Nicolson Street.

Kincaid’s 1784 Town Plan. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

By 1804 howecwe on Ainslie’s Plan we can see the garden square has been formed and the early 19th century wing of tenements on the west and south sides are planned and shown as a dotted outline. Notice that at this stage, the road that extends Nicolson Street south is shown as “Intended” and Clerk Street does not yet exist.

Ainslie’s 1804 Town Plan. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

If you want something actually named for St. Patrick in Edinburgh, then you need to go to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on the Cowgate. But it wasn’t always so, it started life as an Episcopalian Chapel (the English Chapel as it was known) in 1770. By 1821 it was occupied by the Relief Church (an organisation that split off the Kirk in Fife in 1763 as the Presbytery of Relief for the “Relief of Christians oppressed in their Christian privileges”, and later the United Presbyterian Church

St. Patrick’s RC Church, CC-by-SA 3.0 Kim Traynor

The Roman Catholic Church bought the chapel, with a 50% contribution by local public subscription, and it was consecrated and opened for Mass in 1856. This reflected the swelling number of Irish immigrant Catholics in the Cowgate at this time. Up until 1918, the RC Church controlled education for Catholic children in Edinburgh (and indeed in Scotland) and it was not until after this that St. Patricks’ School became a school under the control of the Edinburgh Education Authority for RC children in the Cowgate and Dumbiedykes area. Like many RC schools in the city, it had a wandering start to life, moving first to a building on St. John’s Hill formerly occupied by an Industrial School (a form of reformatory school that taught basic skills related to trades to children) before occupying part of what had been South Bridge School. Rather like the case of St. Patrick Square, the late Stuart Harris (author of the go-to reference on Edinburgh street and placenames) provides ample evidence that there is no authentic link between the place name of St. John’s Hill and any Christian saint of that name or indeed the Order of the Knights of St John!

St. John’s Hill, 1959, photograph by Adam H. Malcolm © Edinburgh City Libraries. St Patrick’s School was on the right of the street on which the children are playing. Everything in this photo, apart from Moray House Training College in the left background, has now been cleared away and a road on this alignment is now known as Viewcraig Gardens.

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#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret

The thread about Junction Road Church in Leith and its long and complicated journey through different church and congregation schisms and mergers

This thread was originally written and published in March 2022.

Today’s auction house artefact is this silver church collection plate, inscribed “To the glory of God and in loving memory of Miss Jessie Gray, died 18th Nov. 1961, Dear sister of Rev. Joseph Gray. Easter 1964. Junction Road Church.“

Junction Road Church collection plate, 1964

Junction Road Church stood on Great Junction Street. The building is still there, a rather plain, Neoclassical block, but the congregation merged into Leith St. Andrew’s Church of Scotland at the foot of Easter Road in 2006. It is now used by the Mohiuddin Jamia Masjid (Mosque) and education centre.

Junction Road Church. Bryan Hickman via British Listed Buildings

As a church, it is yet another one of those born out of the various 18th and 19th century schisms in Scottish Presbyterianism and had quite a ride before it joined the established Kirk (Church of Scotland) in 1929. Junction Road Church started out in the Relief Church, an organisation that split off the Kirk in Fife in 1763 as the “Presbytery of Relief” for the “Relief of Christians oppressed in their Christian privileges” over the right of congregations to choose their own minister. The Leith congregation of the Relief Church sat in the old North Leith Kirk of St. Ninian as a temporary home when it formed in 1822. The parishioners were Leithers but had up to this point been worshipping in a Relief congregation at St. James Place in Edinburgh.

The St. James’ Place Relief Church

The congregation is reputed to have been “a great Kirk for Captains and Company Porters“, the seafaring and dock-working men of Leith (and their families). In March 1824, the foundation stone of a new Relief church in Leith was laid on what would become Great Junction Street – except then was known either as Junction Road (or even St. Anthony’s Road). The Junction Road name stuck for the church, even though when the whole road scheme was finally completed in 1827 it was called Great Junction Street. At this time the congregation numbered 269, so this was quite a financial undertaking.

The church opened on the Sabbath, 30th Jan. 1825 at a build cost of £4,000. The minister was Francis Muir of Strathaven who preached “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house and the place where Thine honour dwelleth.” in thanks to its temporary home. Reverend Muir was joined by a 2nd minister – Deans – in 1865 to assist with the burden of duties of a congregation approaching 900. Muir died in 1871, aged 75, after 49 years with the congregation. Deans resigned in 1878 owing to ill health brought on by the burden of his work.

The new minister – Duncan – was called in 1879, but resigned 3 years later owing to being unable to manage the large congregation that had been held together largely by their loyalty to the long serving Muir. The next minister – McLeod – died suddenly in 1886 after only 3 years service. His replacement – Scott – suffered a schism in the congregation in 1890 over the issue of unfermented communion wine. The dissenters left to form the Ebenezer Free Church down the street.

The Ebenezer United Free Church is now down the road on Bangor Road, having moved when the block it was contained within was subject to a slum clearance in the 1970s.

At the close of 1899 the Junction Place Church had a healthy congregation of 1,187. By this time it was part of the United Presbyterian Church, (the U. P. Church you will see on old Ordnance Survey maps) the Relief Church having merged with the United Secession Church in 1847 (Any excuse to bring out this diagram!)

The Scottish church schism timeline diagram for 1847

Over this time, the Church that had sat on the fringes of Leith in orchards and market gardens when it was opened was swallowed up by the burgeoning burgh, and enclosed within dense housing and industries.

1849 vs 1893 OS Town Plan. Move the slider to compare. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

In 1900, the United Presbyterian Church joined with most of the Free Church to form the United Free Church. To celebrate, a new pipe organ was installed in 1903. (A motion to use a harmonium instead of an organ was defeated by “overwhelming majority“)

The Scottish church schism timeline diagram for 1900

The Church had also built itself a new hall to its rear, facing onto Bonninton Road, in 1894 and ran a very active social program from here. This included a literary society, a savings bank, clothing scheme, children’s work lessons, temperance band, mothers’ meetings etc.

Former Junction Road Church halls on Bonnington Road

A new minister – Rev. Joseph Gray – was inducted in 1921 in time for the church’s centenary. The congregation followed most of the United Free Church by joining the established Kirk in 1929. It is Gray’s sister to whom the collection plate is dedicated.

The Scottish church schism timeline diagram for 1929

By 1975, long term population shifts (an ageing, depopulating Leith) and changes in worshipping habits saw Junction Road merge with the nearby St. Thomas’ on Mill Lane to form St. Thomas’ Junction Road. St. Thomas’ building would become home to the Sikh Gurdwara

The Sikh Gurdwara, formerly St. Thomas’ Church

Writing in 2003, “We- Ministers, Elders, Managers and Members of Junction Road Church-do not know what the future has in store for us as individuals and for us as a Congregation”. The future held a merger with Leith St. Andrew’s at the foot of Easter Road, the congregation moving into the latter building. The future of even this merger of mergers Church is now once again up for debate, with the real prospect that the Church of Scotland will consolidate into a single Leith congregation at the South Leith Kirk.

Leith St. Andrew’s Church of Scotland

This thread is one of an occasional series with the vague working title of “just why are there so many old churches in Edinburgh and Leith.” You can read a bit more in the thread on Leith Communion Tokens.

Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.

If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.

Explore Threadinburgh by map:

Travelers' Map is loading...
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These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret