Haddington - St Mary's Collegiate Church

Haddington was the fourth largest town in Scotland in the High Middle Ages, and the first chartered Royal Burgh. There is record of the church here in a charter of David I of Scotland dated 1139, giving the monks of St Andrews Cathedral Priory the benefits of its revenues.

In the late 12th century the great Abbey of Haddington was founded by Ada de Warenne, Countess of Northumbria, for a community of Cistercian Nuns. In addition to the Cistercians and the Franciscans, there was a house of the Dominican Order.

In recognition of Haddington's strategic importance, it was burnt twice in the 13th century by the English. In 1356, Edward III of England. Edward spent ten days at Haddington, where he sacked the town, and destroyed most of the buildings.

John Knox trained as a priest in St Mary's but never held the parish. Instead, he became a notary. Knox then became a guide to George Wishart as he travelled in the Lothians. In 1547, Wishart preached at two services in St Mary's with Knox standing guard, below the pulpit bearing a two handed sword.

Building work on the current church was started in 1380, and further building and rebuilding has taken place up to the present day. It is the longest church in Scotland, at 62.8 metres from east to west, and is in the early Gothic style.

An angel holding a scroll