The exact date of foundation is unknown but St Giles cathedral is definitely one of the finest views in Edinburgh. I like its interior's quietnes that is able to provide a relief from the Royal Mile's everyday buzz. I went there today to light a candle on All Saints Day in memory of my Dad (and Grandads and my Grandmother and even my dog as I believe that they all are having some great time up there in the sunny celstial fields) and had a quick look at the interior again. There are some interesting plaques in the wall (more of it later) and striking blue ceiling.
The most unusual is a little monument of a stool which comemorates a famous incident that took place in the cathedral on Sunday, July 23 1637.Quoting my Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Edinburgh: 'Charles I had ordered the English Church service to be read in every parish church in Scotland, and as Dean Hannay in St. Giles gave out the collectfor the day a kail-wife whose stance was at the Tron, Jenny Geddes by name, flung her stool at his head, with the result that a riot ensued.' As there is never a bad reason for Scottish people to start a riot (see Begbie from Trainspotting), brave Jenny has a tablet commemorating her fight for the freedom of conscience. The Dean also has his own tablet on a pillar of the transept which reads: 'To James Hannay, D. D., Dean of this Cathedral, 1634-1639. He was the first and the last who read the service book in this church. This memorial is erected in happier times by his descendant.'
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