Barclay Viewforth Church

Located at the border between the Bruntsfield and Tollcross areas of the city at the junction of Barclay Place and Wright's Houses, it was designed by Frederick Thomas Pilkington (1832–98) starting in 1862 and completed in 1864 mainly from a bequest of £10,000 left by Miss Mary Barclay of Carlton Terrace for the building of a church for the Free Church of Scotland. The first minister of the congregation was Rev Dr James Hood Wilson, DD, the first service of public worship being held on 23 December 1864. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1895. Wilson was replaced by Rev Dr William Macallum Clow in 1897. The church remained part of the Free…

The Church, along with the Halls and Church Officer's House at the rear, are category A listed by Historic Scotland. The spire, which at 250 ft high is a landmark in the city skyline, is one of the tallest church spires in Edinburgh. Internally, the church has seating on the ground floor with two tiers of galleries in the heart shaped auditorium, which originally had seating for 1,200. The organ was installed in 1896 by R. Hope-Jones and has been twice rebuilt. The marble pulpit (also by Pilkington) holds a prominent location under the organ pipes with a central view over the nave.