St Paul's Episcopal Church, York Place, Edinburgh

St Paul's Episcopal Church, located on York Place in Edinburgh, was originally built between 1816 and 1818 by Archibald Elliott, with a substantial enlargement carried out by Peddie & Kinnear between 1891 and 1892. It is a Perpendicular Gothic symmetrical church, initially comprising a 3-bay nave and aisle structure, which was later extended by 23 additional bays to the east in a matching style to create a new sanctuary. The building is constructed from polished sandstone ashlar.

The church's walls feature a base course, and the windows are pointed-arched with hoodmoulds and sloping sills. Decorative crocketted pinnacles and stepped buttresses adorn the exterior.

The west elevation is symmetrical and features the gable end of the original nave in the centre bay. A projecting stone doorpiece contains a two-leaf gothic panelled timber door with splayed reveals, engaged colonettes, quatrefoils and a quatrefoil arch. Above the door is a full-height traceried window. A mutuled cornice runs along the gablehead, surmounted by a crenellated parapet pierced by pointed-arched openings of alternating heights. The gablehead is centred by a panelled square shaft topped with a crocket and carved cross. Tall, octagonal angle turrets flank the central bay, breaking the eaves and featuring pendant gothic strapwork on the lower stages and open-work upper stages with two-tier lights. The turrets are finished with crenellated parapets and traceried panels. Single bay gable ends of the original side aisles flank the main west elevation.

The south elevation, facing York Place, is nine bays wide, with the seven bays of the original church to the left. The projecting south aisle features traceried windows separated by buttresses with crocketted pinnacles. Stone doorpieces, similar to the west door, are positioned at ground level on either side, with one subsequently stone-infilled. The original nave's south wall rises behind the aisle, featuring pointed-arched clearstorey windows between buttresses with crocketted pinnacles. Two later bays extend to the right, incorporating pointed-arched traceried windows above a string course.

The east elevation mirrors the centre bay of the west elevation, with a plain wall below the full-height window, differing tracery patterns, and a more elaborate hoodmould. This elevation is framed by octagonal angle turrets matching those on the west side. The north elevation, not inspected in 1998, is reportedly similar to the south elevation.

The interior features 4-centred arches supported by clustered stone piers for the nave walls. Panelled, canted timber ceilings include pierced timber arches springing from wall shafts. The organ case is simple, and the floor tiles are likely from the 1891-92 renovations by Peddie & Kinnear. Other furnishings were designed by J M Dick and Peddie & Forbes Smith. Marble monuments were created by John Steel and D W Stevenson, while David Bryce designed an ogee Gothic tabernacle on the north wall of the chancel.

A gothic cast-iron lamp post, made by Laidlaw of Glasgow, stands nearby. Sandstone ashlar dwarf walls, topped by late 20th century railings, enclose the church’s east and west ends. The east wall and railings step downhill into Broughton Street.