Cramond Kirk Chancel
The Communion table shows a carved cross surrounded by a circle which is the Celtic symbol for light. Here the elders and minister sit on communion Sundays and distribute bread and wine to the congregation. The pulpit was installed as part of the 1911 refurbishment The base and steps are in blue Barnton stone hewn from a long disused quarry on the Bruntsfield golf course in Davidson's Mains. To the right of the chancel steps lies the leather-bound Book of Remembrance given to the Kirk by the Women’s Guild (now the Church of Scotland Guild), to celebrate its 95th anniversary in 1986. It records the births and deaths of people connected with the Kirk. The Women’s Guild also gifted the Pulpit Bible to mark its centenary. Close to the pulpit is the font, used for infant baptism. This also dates from 1911 and the inscription “The Gift of the Children” records the old pennies and halfpennies given by children towards the cost. There is also a small, portable font in the Chapel.
The Chapel and Organ
In 1998 some pews were removed from under the Cramond gallery in order to install a Wyvern digital organ. The speakers are hidden behind the dummy organ pipes beside the pulpit. Prior to the installation of the Wyvern organ music was played on a Norman and Beard organ which was installed in 1911. In 1871 a harmonium was installed in the old Kirk. This was not without controversy – some people resented the introduction of a “kist of whistles” and preferred the singing to be led by a precentor. In 2003 the Chapel you see today was created under the Cramond Gallery to provide a multipurpose space which could be used for prayer services as well as being suitable for small weddings funerals and baptisms. The remaining pews were placed around three sides of the space and, with the addition of chairs and stools, seating for up to 50 people is now available. Ben Dawson of Musselburgh designed the furniture for the new Chapel in an updated 21st century style echoing the Edwardian furnishings in the rest of the church. The cross is made of oak which is also used in veneers for the furniture. Pine is used elsewhere notably for the fence - the low screen defining the Chapel area. The carpet made by a Stoddard of Kilmarnock subsidiary is ultramarine in colour with a bold width of heather under the table. The two candle stick holders were turned by Kays of Mauchline from Ailsa Craig granite as was the small font base with its spherical pewter bowl and cover.
The East Aisle
On the wall of the East Aisle is a bust of Sir James Hope of Hopetoun. He was a lawyer, industrialist and politician. The family wealth stemmed from the rich mining estate of Leadhills and Sir James frequently travelled to the Netherlands, the principal market for his lead ore. On one such trip he caught “Flanders Fever” and died at his brother’s house in Granton two days after returning to Scotland. As Granton was then in the parish of Cramond he is buried in the Kirkyard and his elaborate headstone can be seen outside the Kirk. He was the grandfather of Charles Hope, 1 st Earl of Hopetoun, for whom the present Hopetoun House was built.
Cramond Kirk Galleries
The named galleries used to be reserved for the major landowners and their households. The landowners were known as “heritors” and were legally responsible for the parish church and its minister. Costs were apportioned according to the value of their estates. The galleries were comfortable and often had stoves for warmth. In 1929 the responsibilities of the heritors were transferred to the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland. The Cramond Gallery above the chapel was reserved for the owners of Cramond House, which is close to the Kirk. It was built in 1680 by John Inglis, an Edinburgh merchant. It is now owned by the Church of Scotland and rented out to the Little Monkeys nursery. The Craigie Halkett family were the last private owners of Cramond House, the line ending with Miss Dorothy Craigie Halkett (1893-1959). In the Cramond Gallery there is a Craigie Halkett memorial . During a visit to Cramon d House in 1860 Queen Victoria worshipped at the Kirk and sat on the blue velvet chair which is still kept in this gallery. The Barnton Gallery, above the Chancel, was reserved for the owner of Barnton House and his household. He was the largest heritor, responsible for 36% of the costs. Barnton House was demolished in 1925 and the estate parkland is now partly occupied by the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society and the Royal Burgess Golfing Society. The Dalmeny Gallery was reserved for the Earls of Roseberry, owners of the Dalmeny Estate which lies to the west of the River Almond. The Honourable Neil J A Primrose, younger son of the 5 th Earl of Roseberry, was killed in WWI in 1917 and his name is on the WWI Memorial Roll of Honour. At the service to celebrate the tercentenary of Cramond Kirk in 1956, the 5 th Earl of Rosebery read the lesson. The North Gallery, (originally called the “New” gallery), dates from 1911 when the Kirk was extended northwards during the refurbishment. At one time there existed a previous gallery on the north side which was damaged by fire in 1868. The heritors employed a famous architect, David Bryce, who built Fettes College, to devise a plan and he recommended the demolition of the old gallery and gave the occupants special raised seats against the north wall. It is recorded that they also got a new stove place though it is not known whether the original stove was the cause of the fire!
The War Memorial
Our WWI War Memorial consists of a stained glass window in five panels, a memorial brass, and also a beautiful mosaic of Old Cramond Brig, with the figures of King James V. and Jock Howieson in the foreground, and the motto "Forward without fear." The whole memorial was designed and executed by Oscar Paterson, a Glasgow-based stained glass artist. The window depicts conflict and triumph. High over is the burning bush. In the corner beneath the window is the motto from Horace Odes 2.6.13 which is translated "that nook of earth has charms for me over all the world beside".
The brass with its enamels of the four evangelists (St Matthew a man, St Mark a lion, St Luke a calf, St John an eagle) contains, beside the inscription, the names of 105 men connected with our parish who died in the Great War. After World War II twelve more names were added. The mosaic depicts the legend of Jock Howieson, a peasant living at Cramond Brig, who came to the aid of a stranger being attacked by robbers and found that he had rescued his king. To show his gratitude King James V granted him the lands of Braehead in return for which he was to provide the monarch with a ewer and basin for washing his hands whenever he passed Cramond Brig. In Spring 2024 the legend of Jock Howieson and James V was mentioned on an Antiques Roadshow programme from Pollok House Aristocrat Simon Houison Craufurd, who owns Craufordland Castle in Ayrshire, presented a silver basin, a wine ewer and a bottle of water for valuation. These items date from1822, the year when Sir Walter Scott organised the visit of George IV to Edinburgh, and Mr Houison Craufurd explained the significance of them: “This goes back to an ancestor of mine who lived in the 1400s in the outskirts of Edinburgh, near a place called Cramond Brig. One evening, he heard a commotion on the bridge and saw a man on horseback being attacked. So he ran to the bridge and helped fend off the attackers. He took the man to his home and bathed his wounds. Long story short, it turned out he just saved the life of King James V.
“If you fast-forward to 1822, Sir Walter Scott knew of the story and he arranged for my great great great grandfather William Houison Craufurd to do a ceremonial washing of the hands to symbolise the washing of the wounds for George IV." The water in the bottle was the original liquid used in 1822 and was also subsequently used in ceremonies by succeeding monarchs, including the late Queen Elizabeth. Not surprisingly the Antiques Roadshow expert, Gordon Foster, valued the three items at between £100,000 to £150,000!
Cramond Kirk West Aisle
Notice the wooden board listing all the names of all the ministers of Cramond Kirk since the Reformation of 1560. In the 18th century three of the Cramond ministers, William Hamilton and his sons Robert and Gilbert, served as moderators of the General Assembly - the governing body of the Church of Scotland. Rev Russell Barr also served as Moderator in 2016-17. Rev Robert Walker is the subject of the Raeburn portrait “The Skating Minister”. Rev George Muirhead was, at the age of 79, the oldest minister to sign the deed setting up the Free Church of Scotland. This event, of May 1843, is known as the “Disruption”. They left the established Kirk for the principle of the congregation's right to call its own minister. Eventually the Church of Scotland achieved its own freedom from state interference and in 1929 the branches reunited although in some places the free church continues.