St David's Church, Dalkeith

Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian was a follower of the Oxford movement. Her spiritual advisor John Henry Newman was a leading thinker in the group. She had built St John's church in Jedburgh for the Episcopalian church. After she converted to Catholicism in 1851, Lady Lothian decided to build a church for the Catholic population in Dalkeith. Joseph Hansom was the church architect and building started in 1853. The church's founder died on a religious visit to Rome in 1877, but her body was buried in this church at the foot of the altar. In 1944, the Jesuits left the parish and handed over administration of the church to the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh who continue to serve the congregation. ==Parish==

The church has two Sunday Masses. There is one at 6:00pm on Saturday evening, the other is at 11:00am on Sunday morning. There are weekday Masses at 9:00am on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The church has a relationship with St David's School. It was opened in 1854. In 1876, the Sisters of Mercy came from St. Catherine’s Convent in Edinburgh to take over the teaching. In 1940, they left the school. In 1966, part of the Loreto School in Musselburgh was moved to St David’s. ==See also==