Canongate Parish Church, Edinburgh

Canongate Parish Church in Edinburgh was built between 1688 and 1690 by James Smith, with later alterations. This symmetrical, cruciform church features a distinctive curvilinear ashlar Dutch gable on the entrance elevation facing south. The entrance has a small central portico with Doric columns and a dentiled pediment, flanked by single-leaf timber doors. Above the doors is a moulded plaque with an escutcheon, flanked by tall round-arched windows, with smaller round-arched windows on either side. A central circular window with radial glazing bars is topped by an elaborately carved coat of arms, with stag's antlers and a cross finial at the apex of the gable. The church has raised margins and a small single-storey ogee-roofed apse on the north elevation, along with single-storey lean-to vestries at the re-entrant angles.

The interior features a wide vestibule with Roman Doric columned screens on the east and west sides. A broad turning stair on the left leads to a gallery that houses a custom-built Frobenius Organ from 1998, situated between two round-arched windows. The nave is aisled and has three bays, supported by giant Doric columns that create a round-arched arcade, with tall pilastered piers flanking larger arches in the transepts. There are two timber pulpits in the nave and two timber prayer stalls in the apse. The decorative scheme from around 1950 includes simple white painted walls, light blue timberwork, and pews.

Surrounding the church is a large T-plan burial ground that extends to the sloping ground to the north. This burial ground contains a distinguished collection of monuments and burial enclosures, mainly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The gates and gatepiers consist of square ashlar gatepiers topped with stone urns, a low curving coped wall with wrought-iron railings, and wrought-iron gates.