St David's Church, Dalkeith

St David's Church
St David's Church
	Front entrance
	St David's Church Location in Midlothian
	55°53′27″N 3°04′33″W / 55.890868°N 3.075931°W
OS grid reference	NT328669
Location	Dalkeith, Midlothian
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	StDavidsDalkeith.co.uk
History
Status	Active
Founded	1853
Founder(s)	Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian
Dedication	Saint David of Scotland
Architecture
Functional status	Parish church
Heritage designation	Category A listed
Designated	18 October 1976
Architect(s)	Joseph Hansom
Groundbreaking	1853
Completed	21 May 1854
Administration
Province	St Andrews and Edinburgh
Archdiocese	St Andrews and Edinburgh
Deanery	St David's East and Midlothian

St David's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Dalkeith, Midlothian. It was founded in 1854 by Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian. It was designed by Joseph Hansom and is a category A listed building.^[3]

History

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.^[4] Joseph Hansom was the church architect and building started in 1853.^[3] On 21 May 1854, the church opened and a Fr Mackay was the first parish priest. In 1858, he was replaced by a Fr J. S. McCorry. In 1860, Lady Lothian invited the Society of Jesus to serve the parish.^[5]

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.^[4]

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.^[3]

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.^[2]

Also in the parish is the St Luke and St Anne Church in Mayfield, Midlothian. It was founded in 1948 and the church was built in 1971. There is a Sunday Mass there at 9:30am on Sunday morning. There are weekday Masses at 9:00am on Monday and Wednesday.^[2]

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.^[3]^[5]