St Michael's Parish Church, Linlithgow

St Michael’s Parish Church stands beside Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian. It is one of the largest burgh churches in the Church of Scotland and has served the town since the 12th century. The present building mostly dates from the 15th century after a fire in 1424. Scottish kings and queens worshipped here, including James IV and Mary, Queen of Scots, who was baptised in the church. The Reformation brought changes, and Cromwell’s troops once stabled horses inside. The church has been restored many times, most recently in the 19th century. The church’s history is marked by notable events and people. King David I granted a charter in 1138, and the church was completed in 1540. Four ministers later became Moderators of the Church of Scotland. The Rev Dr John Ferguson organised a major restoration in the late 19th century. A surviving statue of St Michael remains from the pre-Reformation period. The aluminium crown installed in 1964 replaced an earlier steeple removed in the 1820s. Inside, visitors find a mix of old and new. Traces of pre-Reformation features survive beneath whitewash removed in the 1870s. The first post-Reformation stained glass windows date from the late 19th century. The church organ was introduced in 1871 after a legal case in Crieff. The surviving statue of St Michael stands high on the south-west buttress. The building’s long history is visible in its walls and furnishings.