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image copyright Rachel Windsor
This church on the Royal Mile dates back to the 9th century, although the oldest part of the building as extant dates from c. 1120, and the rest of the church from around 1243, with what some believe is a disastrous reworking by William Burn in 1829 which altered the substantially Norman fabric of the building.
Kirk and State Excisemen
Ye men of wit and wealth, why all this sneering
'Gainst poor Excisemen? Give the cause a hearing:
What are your Landlord's rent-rolls? Taxing ledgers!
What Premiers? What ev'n Monarchs? Mighty Gaugers!
Nay, what are Priests? (those seeming godly wise-men,)
What are they, pray, but Spiritual Excisemen!
Robert Burns
The image on the left shows the ground plan of the High Kirk of St Giles prior to the refurbishment of 1829. It was originally published in Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time by Daniel Wilson, published in two volumes in 1848.
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Links:
Dictionary of Scottish Architects - William Burn
High Kirk of St Giles (St Giles Cathedral)
St Giles - Views in Edinburgh and its Vicinity 1818
St Giles in the New Statistical Account of Scotland
The Renovation of St Giles in the History of Edinburgh by John Anderson 1858
Jenny Geddes in Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time by Daniel Wilson