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Lady Glenorchy's Church

church building in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ56632401 ↗
Source-derived summary

Lady Glenorchy's Church or Chapel in Edinburgh was a church founded in the 18th century by Willielma Campbell, Viscountess Glenorchy. It was made a quoad sacra parish in 1837. Most of the church building was demolished in the late 20th century, with the facade forming the frontage of the Glasshouse Hotel on the site.

History

The chapel was founded by Willielma Campbell, Viscountess Glenorchy. Her husband James Campbell had died in 1771 and she was left very wealthy. Under the influence of several people, in particular Jane Hill, Rowland Hill's sister, she became a major patron of the Church of Scotland both in her financial support of ministers and in her construction of several chapels, built at her own expense. In Edinburgh this led to the building of "Lady Glenorchy's Chapel" on a piece of low-lying ground between the Old Town to the south, and the village of Low Calton and the Calton Hill to the north. This ground, part of its garden ground, was feued from the Edinburgh Orphan Hospital. The church lay midway between the orphan hospital to the north-west, and the medieval Trinity College Kirk to the south-east. Building began in 1772 and was completed in 1774.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Lady Glenorchy's Church” as church building in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lady, Glenorchy's and Church.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1837, 1771, 1772, 1774—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Lady, Glenorchy's and Church providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Lady Glenorchy's Church”, the useful work is to connect “church building in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q56632401. VIAF identifies the subject as 152599458. The Library of Congress control number is n94078880. Authority coordinates are 55.957, -3.186. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1837, 1771, 1772 and 1774.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Lady Glenorchy's Church”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Lady Glenorchy's Church primary sources, Lady Glenorchy's Church archive and Lady research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Lady Glenorchy's Church”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Lady Glenorchy's Church” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.