St Stephen's Church

About

Saint Stephen's Theatre is a former Church of Scotland church located in the Northern New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the corner of Saint Stephen Street and Saint Vincent Street, now a theatre and event venue.

Use as a church: St Stephen's Church was built in 1827–1828, on a vast scale, to a design by architect William Henry Playfair (1789–1857). It is described as "Baroque power and Grecian severity..., dominating the long vista from the lower end [of St Vincent Street] and ingeniously conforming to the oblique line of St Stephen Street." The church had an unusual plan, square with cut-off north and south corners, located diagonally. The first minister of the church was William Muir, who opened an evening school in the large vaulted cellars of the church for the education of the illiterate.

The interior was altered in 1956, the congregation having declined. A major fundraising effort was organised led by the then minister, the Revd A. Ian Dunlop. This was one of the first subdivisions of major buildings in Edinburgh, with the reconstructed church occupying effectively the gallery level accessed by the main staircase from St Vincent Street, and a number of halls (including...