St. Serf’s Parish Church
This church was built at the turn of the twentieth century, at a time when the surrounding area was being developed. The building is at the corner of Ferry Road and Clark Road, which was a newly formed road at the time.
An architectural competition was held for the design of the church, the winner being an Edinburgh architect, George Mackie Watson. The church was built in 1901, and a single storey extension was added in 1924. After World War II, a new hall and other accommodation was added to the north of the church itself. The hall has for some years been used as a venue for Edinburgh Festival Fringe productions.
St. Serf’s Church amalgamated with the former Inverleith Parish Church in 2011 to form a new congregation, known as Inverleith St. Serf’s. They chose to use the St. Serf’s building as their main place of worship, and initially used the former Inverleith Church as halls. Inverleith Church was subsequently sold to the Edinburgh Tabernacle.
There are more photographs of the church on the church᾿s own website – see link below.
Name and Denomination
| Original Name | St. Serf’s Parish Church |
| Original Denomination | Church of Scotland |
| Present Name | St. Serf’s Parish Church |
| Current Denomination | Church of Scotland |
Design and Construction
| Built | Architect |
|---|---|
| 1901 | George Mackie Watson |
The Ministers
| Date | Name |
|---|---|
| 1902-1916 | Rev D G Hamilton |
| 1917-1926 | Rev Charles Houlston |
| 1927-1946 | Rev George J Wright |
| 1947-1976 | Rev Frank G Findlay M.A. |
| 1976-1983 | Rev Mr Beatty |
| 1983-1991 | Rev W S Peat |
| 1991-1998 | Rev Dr Peter Donald |
| 1998-2010 | Rev Sara Embleton |
| 2010-2011 | Rev Dr John Stevenson (locum) |
Rev Sara Embleton kindly provided a history of St. Serf’s from its formation until the 1990s. I am very grateful to her for this.
from Dictionary of Scottish Architects
from Dictionary of Scottish Architects