page_title: North Leith Parish Church
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: North Leith Parish Church / History
caption_attribution_description: English: St Ninian's Manse. Incorporates part of 17th-century North Leith parish Church (St Ninian's) and manse. Later a mill and granary. Restored on behalf of the Cockburn Conservation Trust by Simpson and Brown Architects who have their offices within the building. This building stood close to the first bridge to cross the river at Leith and, as such, would have been a common sight for people travelling to Edinburgh's northern neighbour. This is presumably why a clock is provided on the tower.
context_page_description: North Leith Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland, within the Presbytery of Edinburgh. It is serves part of Leith, formerly an independent burgh and since 1920 a part of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.
context_section_description: The church connection dates to 1128, when King David I of Scotland granted lands for the construction of Holyrood Abbey. In 1493 Robert Bellenden, Abbot of Holyrood, built St Ninian's Chapel on the north-west bank of the Water of Leith, on lands owned by the Abbey. The small chapel was subsequently rebuilt after the Reformation. The replacement church opened in 1586, and later became the parish church of North Leith, which was created a quoad omnia parish, i.e. a civil and sacred parish, by a resolution of the Parliament of Scotland in 1606. A Dutch-style tower was added in 1675. The discovery of rot in this building in the 18th century led to extensive renovation and the construction of galleries within the building, but the church remained too small for the congregation, leading to its replacement by the current building in 1816 (then in fields just outside the built-up part of Leith). The Dutch-style tower of the old church still stands, although it was later incorporated into a mill. In the old churchyard of St.Ninians stands the altar tomb of Thomas Gladstones (1732 - 1809), a prosperous Leith merchant, and the grandfather of the famous Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. Thomas Gladstones was a church elder for the 'Hill' district of Leith for over 40 years.
  At the point of the Disruption of 1843 North Leith parish was "vacant" (having no fixed minister) which seemed an encouragement to many to leave. North Leith Free Church was built on the corner of Coburg Street and North Junction Street, east of the church. 600 members of the congregation left, together with all the elders. The first minister was Rev William MacKenzie. The church could hold 1000 people. In 1857 Rev Robert MacDonald replaced MacKenzie. He organised the building of a magnificent new free church on Ferry Road, south of the original church. This was completed in 1859 and could hold 1100 people. The 1844 site was redeveloped as tenements. The 1859 church was demolished in 1981. A datestone was salvaged and re-used in the current church halls. North Leith Free Church no longer exists in any form. Rev Robert MacDonald served as Moderator of the General Assembly for the Free Church in 1882.
  North Leith Parish Church united with Bonnington Church in 1968, creating Leith North & Bonnington Church (using the Madeira Street building). In 1982, Leith North & Bonnington Church further united with Leith St Ninian's Ferry Road Church, creating the current congregation with the historic name North Leith Parish Church.
caption: St Ninian's Manse incorporates the tower of the 17th-century former parish church
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