| St Michael's Church, Inveresk | |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Location: | Inveresk, Musselburgh |
| Denomination: | Church of Scotland |
| Website: | https://stmichaelsinveresk.co.uk/ |
| Status: | Parish church |
| Functional Status: | Active |
| Years Built: | 1805 |
| Presbytery: | Lothian |
| Minister: | The Rev Malcolm Lyon |
St Michael’s Church, Inveresk is a Church of Scotland church serving the parish of Musselburgh: St Michael's Inveresk,[1] in Scotland. Known as "the Visible Kirk" because of its prominent position at the top of the hill within the historic village of Inveresk, it is a Category A listed building.[2]
There have been at least three churches on the site of the present church. The first was built beside the ruins of the Roman fort and is believed to have been a wooden structure which, according to legend, was built at the instigation of the Irish missionary nun Modwenna.
The second church was a medieval stone construction built sometime before 1547. Both Oliver Cromwell and Bonnie Prince Charlie commandeered the building during their respective campaigns. This building was also visited and preached in by James Wishart, who was accompanied by John Knox as part of the armed guard. By the end of the eighteenth century the size and condition of the medieval church were causing concern to the Kirk Session, so it was decided to build a new church "to prevent the people from resorting to other places of worship".[3]
The third and present church was built in 1805 to the design of Robert Nisbet, with the steeple by William Sibbald. The interior of the church was reorientated and remodelled in 1895 to accommodate the Lewis pipe organ, which was donated by the Kirkwood family of Haddington. Further alterations were made to the church in 2002.
The church contains many stained glass windows, including the notable "God in Creation, Providence and Redemption" window, which was designed by Douglas Strachan and installed in 1923.
For four years from 1954, Mary Lusk, who, as the Rev Mary Levison, later became the first woman minister in the Church of Scotland, served as deaconess of the church.[4]
In July 1999, the church raised over £100,000 from the sale of four 380-year old silver communion cups because it could no longer afford to store and insure them. The cups were made by craftsmen in Edinburgh and donated to the church by the Earl of Dunfermline. The money raised from the sale was used for roof repairs and mission work.[5] [6] One of the cups is now within the collection of the Huntly House Museum in Edinburgh.
The following have served as ministers of the church.
| John Burne | 1562–1574 | |
| Andrew Blackhall | 1574–1609 | |
| Adam Colt | 1609–1641 | |
| Oliver Colt | 1641–1679 | |
| Arthur Miller | 1680–1690 | |
| Richard Howieson | 1690–1701 | |
| John Williamson | 1701–1739 | |
| Frederick Carmichael | 1740–1747 | |
| Alexander "Jupiter" Carlyle | 1748–1805 | |
| Leslie Moodie | 1806–1840 | |
| John Beveridge | 1840–1886 | |
| Alexander Marshall | 1887–1888 | |
| James Sharp | 1888–1905 | |
| James Wallace | 1906–1906 | |
| George Duncan | 1907–1910 | |
| Willian Eadie | 1910–1936 | |
| David Stiven | 1937–1958 | |
| Sidney Adamson | 1959–1985 | |
| Alexander Strachan | 1985–1999 | |
| Andrew Dick | 1999–2015 | |
| Malcolm Lyon | 2017– |
The church is surrounded by a large graveyard that extends westwards for almost 300m and is split into separate walled sections, marking its various stages of extension. These sections can broadly be categorised as original (mainly 18th century), a late Victorian extension, an Edwardian/ early 20th century extension to the north, and a modern section to the far west.
The graveyard is owned and maintained by East Lothian Council.
The graveyard contains many noteworthy graves, including those of the following: