Duddingston Church

Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church, located adjacent to Holyrood Park. The church was built in or around 1124 by Dodin, a Norman knight, on land granted to Kelso Abbey by King David I of Scotland. As originally built, the church consisted of the chancel, nave and square tower. The traditional pattern of an east-west axis was adopted. The original entrance on the south wall includes a particularly fine example of Scoto-Norman stone carving, with a round-topped doorway. Following the enlargement of the parish boundaries, the Prestonfield Aisle was added in 1631. This consists of a gallery, downstairs area and burial vaults were on the north side. In 1968 the church's interior was reconditioned, with the former pipe organ removed.

The entrance to the churchyard from Duddingston village is notable for its gatehouse, built as a lookout point to deter “bodysnatchers” in the early 19th century. The Edinburgh bodysnatchers, known as 'resurrectionists,' stole recently buried corpses to sell to anatomists, and, as in the notorious case of Burke and Hare, sometimes also resorted to murder.

Address
Old Church Lane 15, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Established
c. 1124