page_title: St Giles' Cathedral
section_title: South nave aisles
hierarchical_section_title: St Giles' Cathedral / Architecture / South nave aisles
caption_attribution_description: English: The west end of the inner south nave of St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, displays the effects of the Burn restoration of 1829-1833: on the left, a gap is visible between the piers and the screen wall inserted during the restoration after the two bays of the outer south nave aisle were demolished; on the right, the window is off centre and the outline of the original window is visible.
context_page_description: St Giles' Cathedral, or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland located in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the addition of the Thistle Chapel. St Giles' is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, including John Knox, who served as the church's minister after the Scottish Reformation.
  Likely founded in the 12th century and dedicated to Saint Giles, the church was elevated to collegiate status by Pope Paul II in 1467. In 1559, the church became Protestant with John Knox, the foremost figure of the Scottish Reformation, as its minister. After the Reformation, St Giles' was internally partitioned to serve multiple congregations as well as secular purposes, such as a prison and as a meeting place for the Parliament of Scotland. In 1633, Charles I made St Giles' the cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Edinburgh.
context_section_description: The inner and outer south nave aisles were likely begun in the later 15th century around the time of the Preston Aisle, which they strongly resemble. They were likely completed by 1510, when altars of the Holy Trinity, Saint Apollonia, and Saint Thomas were added to the west end of the inner aisle.  The current aisles replaced the original south nave aisle and the five chapels by John Primrose, John Skuyer, and John of Perth, named in a contract of 1387. The inner aisle retains its original quadripartite vault; however, the plaster tierceron vault of the outer aisle (known as the Moray Aisle) dates to William Burn's restoration. During the Burn restoration, the two westernmost bays of the outer aisle were removed. There remains a prominent gap between the pillars of the missing bays and the 19th century wall. At the west end of the outer aisle, Burn added a new wall with a door and oriel window.
  Burn also replaced the window of the inner aisle with a smaller window, centred north of the original in order to accommodate a double niche on the exterior wall. The outline of the original window is still visible in the interior wall.
  In 1513, Alexander Lauder of Blyth commissioned an aisle of two bays at the eastern end of the outer south nave aisle: the Holy Blood Aisle is the easternmost and only surviving bay of this aisle. It is named for the Confraternity of the Holy Blood, to whom it was granted upon completion in 1518. The western bay of the Aisle and the pillar separating the two bays were removed during the Burn restoration and the remainder was converted to a heating chamber. The Aisle was restored to ecclesiastical use under William Hay. An elaborate late Gothic tomb recess occupies the south wall of the aisle.
caption: The effects of the Burn restoration can be seen at the west end of the inner south nave aisle: on the left is a gap between the pillars and the screen wall that was erected after the demolition of two bays; on the right, the outline of the original window is visible.
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