St Mary's Kirk Haddington entrance door

The Parish Church of Haddington, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is first mentioned in 1139 when it was granted to St Andrews by David I. This church is thought to have been a small Norman building occupying the site of the choir of the present church. This structure was begun some time after the destruction of the previous church by Edward III in 1356. The church of St Mary the Virgin is one of the largest churches built during the 'boom-time' of the late 14th-early 15th century, when greater prosperity encoraged the building or rebuilding of a number of burgh kirks. It is second in Lothian only to Edinburgh's St Giles, and is comparable in size to the smaller Scottish cathedrals. The church is cruciform with an aisled nave and choir; the transepts are unaisled. Above the crossing the massive tower is thought once to have had (or been promised) an open crown in the manner of St Giles. 167 photographs Canon 7D 10-18mm EF-s lens at 18mm. Canmore56502