In the old town of Stirling, near the castle, the Church of the Holy Rude is one of only two still-active British churches to have hosted a coronation. It was here that, in 1567, the child-king James VI was crowned — a founding moment of the Scottish Protestant monarchy.
A royal church of Stirling
Built essentially from 1507 to 1530 (choir and west tower), the Church of the Holy Rude benefited from royal patronage: James IV, who 'lived much at Stirling', developed the church alongside the neighbouring castle, one of his favourite residences. This great parish church, with its semi-octagonal apse and its oak roof, illustrates late-Gothic Scottish ecclesiastical architecture, in the shadow of the royal fortress.
The coronation of 1567
The great moment of the Church of the Holy Rude is the coronation of James VI, on 29 July 1567. After the forced abdication of his mother Mary Stuart, the little prince — aged one year — was crowned King of Scots here. The ceremony sealed the alliance of the Reformation and the Crown: Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney, officiated, and the great reformer John Knox delivered the sermon. This coronation of a child-king, in a reformed church and to the sound of a Protestant sermon, marks the official birth of the Scottish Protestant monarchy — the one that, in 1603, would unite the crowns of Scotland and England. To see: the semi-octagonal apse, the oak beam roof (rediscovered in 1940), the historic churchyard with sixteenth-century stones.
Did you know?
The Church of the Holy Rude is one of only two still-active churches in the United Kingdom to have hosted a royal coronation — the other being Westminster Abbey. The child-king James VI was crowned here at one year old, in 1567; become an adult, he would become James I of England and unite the two kingdoms. Thus, this Stirling church, where John Knox's sermon rang out over a king in the cradle, stands at the very origin of united Britain.
Notes
The Church of the Holy Rude lies at Stirling, old town, near the castle; a working church, open to visits. Hours to check.
Quiz
- Which king was crowned at the Church of the Holy Rude in 1567?
- James VI (child-king)
- James IV
- Charles I
- Who delivered the coronation sermon?
- John Knox
- The pope
- Mary Stuart
- What is exceptional about this church?
- One of the 2 active UK churches to have seen a coronation
- The tallest spire in the country
- A hoard of jewels