Catholic Apostolic Church

Mansfield Place Church stands in Edinburgh’s New Town on Mansfield Place, near the foot of Broughton Street. Sir Robert Rowand Anderson designed the Scottish Romanesque building in the 19th century. Completed in 1885, it served the Catholic Apostolic Church until the last priest died in 1958. The interior was decorated between 1893 and 1901 by Phoebe Anna Traquair. Her murals cover every surface and have been called Edinburgh’s Sistine Chapel. The church was later owned by a Reformed Baptist congregation and then left empty by a brick company. Friends of Mansfield Place Church and the Mansfield Traquair Trust campaigned for its restoration. A £2.8 million Heritage Lottery Fund grant helped save the building in the 1990s. The Trust bought it in 1998 and restored both the fabric and Traquair’s murals. Today the sanctuary hosts events while the rest houses the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. Visitors can join guided tours of the sanctuary to see Traquair’s painted ceilings and walls. The building’s Category A listing recognises its outstanding architecture and decoration. Light falls through tall Romanesque windows onto the vivid murals. The former nave feels vast because aisles were omitted for liturgical views. The surrounding streets of the New Town provide a quiet setting for this restored landmark.