Mayfield Salisbury Church

Story

Mayfield Salisbury Church is a member of the Church of Scotland, part of the worldwide family of the Christian Church. It is situated approximately 1.5mi south of Edinburgh city centre at the junction of Mayfield Road and West Mayfield. The building was designed by the renowned Scottish architect, Hippolyte Blanc and the main building work took place between 1875 and 1879. It is particularly renowned for the range and quality of its stained glass. An extensive internal renovation of the sanctuary was undertaken in 2009.HistoryIn the mid nineteenth century Newington with its dwellings, shops and businesses, was bounded on its south side by an old drove road (now East and West Mayfield) beyond which were the farms and fields of Mayfield. However, in 1870 Duncan McLaren of Newington House, a past Lord Provost and MP, began feuing his Mayfield land and by the time of his death in 1886 it was almost wholly built over. It was against this background that Mayfield Free Church (as it was first called) was built. The site for the present church was selected in July 1876, and the main sanctuary was completed in 1879, the spire being added in 1894. From the start this was a broad church which rapidly became widely known as a preaching centre, so that over the 130 plus years of its existence it has been blessed with a distinguished line of much loved and erudite preachers as minister. A detailed account of its history and past ministers, can be found at the church website.Notable MinistersVery Rev William J. G. McDonald DD (1924-2015) minister of the church from 1959 to 1992. Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1989. Presenter of Thought for the Day on Radio Scotland for many years under the name of Bill McDonald.

"In a world of religious and atheistic fundamentalists and in a society paradoxically multi-faith and secular, Mayfield Salisbury celebrates what it means to be human: a rich blend of intuition and reason, knowing and unknowing, affirming and seeking, succeeding and failing, brokenness and wholeness. In our services of public worship we wrestle intellectually with the basic questions of life: why are we here? who and what are we? where do we find meaning in life?Science, philosophy and mathematics are gifts from God but so too are art, music and spirituality. As a congregation, a community of pilgrims, we support and encourage one another. You are welcome to join us!"