Dedicated to Researching Rosslyn Chapel, The Knights Templar and Scottish Freemasonry

Coldingham Collegiate Church is one of the least well know of the 42 Scottish Collegiate Churches. This is probably due to a number of reasons not least of which is due to the fact that the church is still a place of worship.

A Collegiate Church at Coldingham was created, in 1473,* as part of a plan to close Coldingham Priory. Some of the Priory’s revenues were to be diverted to the Chapel Royal of St Mary on the Rock (St Andrews) and the remaining portion was to be devoted to the building of Coldingham Collegiate Church. On 16th September 1484 the coronation of the Dean of the Church, John Hume (or Home) took place. He subsequently travelled to Rome to kiss the hand of Pope Innocent VIII (29th August 1484 - 18th October 1492).** He obtained form that Pope an Act of Revocation which suppressed the creation of the Collegiate Church which, at that time, was partly built. The Scottish Parliament decided, on 26th May 1485, to appeal to the Pope to rescind his Act of Revocation. This Pope Innocent did on 28th April 1487. The Parliament announced that it would be an act of treason for anyone to obstruct the erection (e.g. the completion) of the Collegiate Church at Coldingham. However, the political fortunes of the Hume family rose on the death of James III (1460 - 1488. Born: 1452) and the scheme to complete the Collegiate Church failed.

The remains of Coldingham Collegiate Church (and Priory) have been incorporated into the present structure (see above). It is now a Church of Scotland Parish Church and is well used and supported by the local, vigorous, congregation. Church services are held on Sundays at 11.00am to which all are welcome.

* 27 years after the construction of Rosslyn Chapel began, but before work on that Collegiate Church ceased about 1480.

** The precise dates of the reign of this Pope are give here because they may be significant to the events relating to Coldingham Collegiate Church. Pope Innocent’s predecessor, Pope Sixtus (1471 - 1484) had died on 12th August 1484 and Pope Innocent VIII was Installed on 29th August. Did the Dean, John Hume, know of, and take advantage of, Innocent’s weakness? The latter is described thus: “Affable but wholly ineffectual both within the Church and in his foreign policy”.