Whitekirk Church : Information + Images

Location: Whitekirk, south of North Berwick, East Lothian No larger images, apologies Whitekirk Church: image © Adrian Welch Large 15thC church, visited by Pope Pius II and popular with pilgrims to this day. Description: Located in the hamlet of Whitekirk, south of North Berwick, north of Dunbar - is the 15th Century red sandstone structure which is the Parish Church of St. Mary. Whitekirk was an important mediaeval centre of pilgrimage when a nearby well was pronounced to have healing qualities around 1300. A shrine to Our Lady of Haddington was constructed. The original Church structure at Whitekirk was a 12th Century parish church, under the jurisdiction of Holyrood Abbey. However, in 1413 around 16,000 pilgrims came to Whitekirk and King James I placed the Whitekirk under his personal protection and built hostels to shelter the growing numbers of pilgrims. Whitekirk Church: image © Adrian Welch In 1435, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius II, walked barefoot through the snow from Dunbar to give thanks at Whitekirk Church for his survival of a storm in the Firth of Forth while coming on a mission to Scotland. Scottish Churches in Edinburgh & Lothian Key building close by: Tantallon Castle Location: 3m east of North Berwick off the A198, East Lothian pictures © Adrian Welch