Roxburgh Free Church Roxburgh began with Edinburgh's Third Relief Church, founded in 1803. Edinburgh's first
Relief congregation had been founded at Potterrow in 1766. It soon outgrew its building and, in 1796, a second Relief congregation was formed at Lady Lawson Street near the
West Port. When this moved to St James' Place in the
New Town, members on the
Southside petitioned to form a new congregation, which was created as the Third Relief Church in 1803. Initially, the congregation rented a chapel in Carrubber's Close in the
Old Town. The congregation was soon growing and, encouraged by the Relief Church's synod, and from June 1810 worshipped in a new church at the corner of
Drummond Street and Roxburgh Place. In 1829, Roxburgh Place became the first
Presbyterian church in Edinburgh to install a
pipe organ.
The Scotsman expressed surprise that this innovation had taken place in one of the dissenting churches, "which are generally understood to be more austere than
the Establishment". The Relief Church synod ordered the church to remove the instrument but the congregation and the minister, James Johnston, refused and withdrew from the denomination. They continued as an independent congregation until 1833 when they successfully petitioned the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to join their denomination, albeit on the condition that the organ be removed. The organ was moved to
St Margaret's Convent and Roxburgh Place joined the established church as a
chapel of ease in
St Cuthbert's Parish. The congregation was raised to the status of a parish
quoad sacra in 1834. At the
Disruption of 1843, Alexander Gregory, minister of Roxburgh, left the
Church of Scotland along with many of his congregation. The previous year, the convocation to prepare for the Disruption had met in the church. The congregation left its buildings at Drummond Street in May 1844. They were joined by the
Relief congregation from Roxburgh Terrace Church and worshipped jointly at the Lancastrian School on Davie Street. They moved to a new church on Hill Square, which opened on 10 June 1847. Prominent ministers included
Alexander Topp, who later became moderator of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada, and
Walter Chalmers Smith, who wrote the hymn "
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise". At the encouragement of the Free Church's Presbytery of Edinburgh, Roxburgh united with the nearby
McCrie Free Church on Davie Street on 10 January 1886. Roxburgh was always relatively small and its membership stood at 289 at the time of its union with McCrie.
Ministers The following ministers served Third Relief Church (1803–1810); Roxburgh Place Relief Church (1810–1829); Roxburgh Place Church (1829–1833); Roxburgh Place Chapel of Ease (1833–1834); Roxburgh Place Parish Church (1834–1843); and Roxburgh Free Church (1843–1886): • 1803–1808 John Reston • 1808–1833 John Johnston • 1834–1837 James Charles Fowler • 1841 James Hamilton • 1842–1851 Alexander Gregory • 1852–1858
Alexander Topp • 1858–1862
Walter Chalmers Smith • 1863–1872 John Simpson • 1872–1873 John Gillison • 1874–1886 George MacAulay
St Michael's Episcopal Church The united congregation of
McCrie-Roxburgh Free used the McCrie buildings at Davie Street. The Free Church sold Roxburgh's Hill Square buildings to the
Scottish Episcopal Church in 1886. St Michael's
Episcopal Church was first gathered by the Mother Superior of the
Community of St Andrew of Scotland in 1865. In its first two years, the charge was supported by
St John's Episcopal Church. A mission chapel (known as the House of Mercy) opened at High School Yards, Infirmary Street at the southern edge of the
Old Town on 26 July 1868.
Clergy The following clergy served St Michael's: ==Building==