St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal)
| St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin | |
| 55°56′55″N 3°12′58″W / 55.94861°N 3.21611°W | |
| Location | Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AW |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Scottish Episcopal Church |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Mary the Virgin |
| Specifications | |
| Number of spires | 3 (Main, 'Barbara' and 'Mary') |
| Spire height | 90 m (300 ft) (Main spire) |
| Bells | 12 |
| Tenor bell weight | 41 long cwt (4,600 lb or 2,100 kg) |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Edinburgh |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | John Armes |
| Provost | John Conway |
| Vice-provost | Marion Chatterley |
| Priest(s) | John Conway Marion Chatterley Paul Foster Janet Spence |
| NSM(s) | Helen Hood |
| Chaplain(s) | Janet Spence |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Duncan Ferguson (Master of the Music & Organist) Imogen Morgan (Assistant Master of the Music & Organist) Assistant Organist: Harvey Stansfield |
| Lay member(s) of chapter | Esther Elliott (lay reader) |
The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, commonly known as St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the West End of Edinburgh, Scotland; part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Its foundation stone was laid in Palmerston Place on 21 May 1874 by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The building was consecrated on 30 October 1879.
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral is the mother church of all Scottish Episcopal churches in the Edinburgh diocese, which stretches from the Firth of Forth down to the English border. There are seven dioceses in Scotland. St Mary's is the see of the Bishop of Edinburgh, one of the seven bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
The cathedral was designed in a Victorian Gothic revival style by architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. It has attained Category A listed building status, and is part of the Old Town and New Town of Edinburgh World Heritage Site. The cathedral is one of only three in the United Kingdom that feature three spires, the other two being Lichfield and Truro cathedrals. The main spire is 90 metres (295 ft) tall, making the building the tallest in the Edinburgh urban area. The Song School and the Chapter House were also added in years following consecration - the Chapter house in 1880. The two west spires - ‘Barbara’ and ‘Mary’ - were completed in 1917.