THE P RTAL
October 2018 Page 8
Our Lady & the Three Kings
Fr Len Black and the Ordinariate in Scotland visit Haddington
St Mary ’ s Kirk in Haddington near Edinburgh is a very special place . Founded as a Collegiate
Church in 1380 and taking over one hundred years to build , the church was largely ruined during the midsixteenth century but in 1561 , at the instigation of John Knox , regarded as the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland , it was repaired “ frae steeple to the west end ”.
As well as being the largest Parish Kirk in Scotland , what makes it even more unusual is the presence of the Lauderdale Aisle , the vestry of the pre- Reformation church to the North of the choir . Today it is an ecumenical chapel for the use of any Trinitarian church and where Catholic Masses , Anglican Eucharists and Church of Scotland prayer meetings are regularly held .
The East end of the church , including the Lauderdale Aisle , lay un-roofed and in ruins from the 16th century until , in the early 1970s , the Kirk Session of St Mary ’ s embarked on an imaginative restoration of St Mary ’ s which included the re-ceiling of the tower , choir and transepts using lightweight fibreglass .
Speaking to me in 1998 the late Patrick Maitland , the 17th Earl of Lauderdale explained that in the 14th century the Pope promised an Indulgence to Pilgrims who came to Whitekirk to the Shrine of Our Lady of Haddington . In one year alone , he explained , the Shrine was visited by 15,000 people , but during the 16th century invasions by the English had left the shrine desecrated and Whitekirk and Haddington in ruins .
In the 1950s Patrick Maitland ’ s good friend Alfred Hope Patten , the Anglican Vicar of Walsingham , told him that one day he should revive devotion to Our Lady in Haddington . At that time , he knew little about Haddington but discovered that his family had a burial chapel adjoining the Kirk where the Earls of Lauderdale had been buried since 1595 .
At the time of the project to restore St Mary ’ s in the 1970s , Patrick Maitland approached the Department for Ancient Monuments who offered to become Guardians of the Chapel and undertake its restoration . Patrick , then an MP , told me that he “ had become rather wary of Civil Servants ” and when he explained that he wished it to become a private chapel their reaction was
Patrick Maitland , 17th Earl of Lauderdale
“ Oh no , not a penny of taxpayers ’ money for religion ”.
Patrick responded , “ You ’ re being very unfair , denying me a Christian burial in my family vault because you ’ re saying ‘ no religion ’.” They relented and said that funerals were all right so he asked , “ What about memorial services ?” They agreed , but Patrick added , “ You can ’ t have memorial services without something for people to sit on .” It was agreed that they would be responsible for the fabric and the Maitlands for furnishings , but there was one final obstacle to be overcome . The Department had powers to charge people to come and visit ancient monuments , “ but no one ’ s going to pay sixpence to come to my funeral !” he exclaimed . Finally , they agreed that there should be free access for Lauderdale guests . “ I suddenly realised ,” he explained to me , “ that here was the opportunity to restore the Medieval Shrine ,” and he set about the task .
“ We had no idea what the original Shrine looked like , other than that it was dedicated to Our Lady and the Three Kings . In the crypt of St Mary ’ s Church , Aberdeen , there ’ s a 15th century panel of the Adoration of the Magi , showing the Magi all wearing kilts , so , inspired by this panel in Aberdeen , showing the Magi hurrying to meet Christ , I got an Oberammergau woodcarver living in Norfolk to make the figures .”
In 1978 the Chapel was re-consecrated as the Chapel of the Virgin Mary , the Christ Child and the Three Kings by the Episcopalian Bishop of Edinburgh , a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland , the Orthodox Priest in Edinburgh and the Abbot of Nunraw Abbey , near Haddington , who blessed the figures .
This marked the beginning of Annual Pilgrimages to the Shrine , drawing thousands of people to Haddington until the early 2000s . Our Ordinariate Pilgrims in September were following in illustrious footsteps as we rediscovered this wonderful Shrine .