Linlithgow Parish Church, Scotland
Details of the King David I window.
Dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel and situated at the entrance to Linlithgow Palace.
There was probably a church on this site from a very early date. The first documentary evidence dates back to 1138 when the church was among the properties gifted to St Andrews Cathedral by David I.
On 22 May 1242 the Church of St Michael of Linlithgow was reconsecrated by the Bishop of St Andrews, but it was only to serve for a further 60 years. In 1301 Edward I's English troops fortified the area as their main base in central Scotland and the church became a storehouse.
After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 the English departed, leaving St Michael's badly in need of the repairs that followed. But worse was to come. In 1424 an English attack led to the burning down of most of the town of Linlithgow as well as the royal manor house that predated the palace, and St Michael's Church itself.
The church was rebuilt over the following 115 years, with support from James I through to James V who, over the same period, were building the neighbouring Linlithgow Palace. Completion of the new St Michael's was celebrated in 1540, though parts of the church came into use as they were completed.
St Michael's had been completed for just 19 years when in 1559 the Protestant Lords of the Congregation forcibly removed all signs of "popishness" from the church, smashing the many beautiful statues adorning its exterior and the altars within. Only the statue of St Michael, forming part of the structure at the south west corner of the nave, survived, and it was defaced. The Reformation had arrived in Linlithgow.
Linlithgow Parish Church, Scotland
Details of the King David I window.
Dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel and situated at the entrance to Linlithgow Palace.
There was probably a church on this site from a very early date. The first documentary evidence dates back to 1138 when the church was among the properties gifted to St Andrews Cathedral by David I.
On 22 May 1242 the Church of St Michael of Linlithgow was reconsecrated by the Bishop of St Andrews, but it was only to serve for a further 60 years. In 1301 Edward I's English troops fortified the area as their main base in central Scotland and the church became a storehouse.
After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 the English departed, leaving St Michael's badly in need of the repairs that followed. But worse was to come. In 1424 an English attack led to the burning down of most of the town of Linlithgow as well as the royal manor house that predated the palace, and St Michael's Church itself.
The church was rebuilt over the following 115 years, with support from James I through to James V who, over the same period, were building the neighbouring Linlithgow Palace. Completion of the new St Michael's was celebrated in 1540, though parts of the church came into use as they were completed.
St Michael's had been completed for just 19 years when in 1559 the Protestant Lords of the Congregation forcibly removed all signs of "popishness" from the church, smashing the many beautiful statues adorning its exterior and the altars within. Only the statue of St Michael, forming part of the structure at the south west corner of the nave, survived, and it was defaced. The Reformation had arrived in Linlithgow.