St Paul's and St George's Church

St Paul’s and St George’s Church stands at the corner of Broughton Street and York Place in Edinburgh’s New Town. The building began as St Paul’s Church in 1818, designed by Archibald Elliot in a Gothic Revival style inspired by King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. Its exterior features crocketted pinnacles, buttresses and a crenellated parapet of sandstone. The church was later extended in the 1890s by Peddie and Kinnear, who added a rib-vaulted porch and new furnishings. In 1932 the congregations of St Paul’s and St George’s merged, giving the church its present name. The church is notable for its architectural heritage and its role in Edinburgh’s religious history. The original St George’s Chapel, built in 1794 by James Adam, once stood nearby and is now a casino. The interior includes a stone tabernacle by David Bryce, marble monuments by Sir John Steell and David Watson Stevenson, and an organ rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1906. The west window, originally in the east end, was moved during renovations completed in 2008. Inside, the long nave is flanked by tall aisles and arched stone columns. New glass-fronted aisle galleries were added in the 21st century, doubling the church’s capacity. The west door now opens into a steel and glass entrance pavilion, replacing the old hall. The reredos, pulpit and rood screen were commissioned from John Dick Peddie and David Forbes Smith, depicting Christ with children flanked by St Paul and St Cuthbert.