Covenant Close and the International Covenant – The Royal Mile, Edinburgh – SFH104

Covenant Close and the International Covenant – The Royal Mile, Edinburgh – SFH104

Nov 17, 2021 | Podcast

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The Royal Mile was the trunk of Old Edinburgh with a large number of small alleyways called closes, courts or wynds branching off on each side. Most of the alleyways are called “closes” which tend to be narrow with tall buildings on both sides and access private property. They all have their own names. One of them is called Covenant Close and as you might have guessed there is a story behind this.

“Honest Mr William Erskine” – Tron Church, Edinburgh – SFH100

“Honest Mr William Erskine” – Tron Church, Edinburgh – SFH100

Sep 30, 2021 | Podcast

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Imprisoned (as he put it himself) “merely for preaching the Gospel, as he had received power from Christ”, William Erskine would certainly preach again to the benefit of many. His cousins Ralph and Ebenezer are better known but the little we can learn about “honest Mr William Erskine” gives evidence of a resolute Covenanter. We visit the building where he preached: Tron Church, Edinburgh, sadly no longer used as a church.

“Smoking Desires for Union” – The International Covenant at St Giles – SFH098

“Smoking Desires for Union” – The International Covenant at St Giles – SFH098

Sep 15, 2021 | Podcast

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Intense emotion surrounded the beginnings of the movement that brought about the Solemn, League and Covenant. It was an international covenant that embraced the political, religious and personal of these nations – a very unique thing. In this episode, we find out how it was first drafted and received in Edinburgh.

Gabriel Semple’s Prison Prayer – Canongate Tolbooth – SFH077

Gabriel Semple’s Prison Prayer – Canongate Tolbooth – SFH077

Dec 10, 2020 | Podcast

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The field preacher Gabriel Semple was incarcerated in the Canongate Tolbooth in 1681. But it was only a brief interlude in a long history of preaching despite persecution. We find out how his experience here fits into the rest of that eventful life of being hunted down with a large price on his head. “What does it matter” he once asked, “how long we suffer in the furnace if [it is] with the company of the Son of God?”

                 

 

Patrick Anderson’s Illegal City Meetings – Potterrow, Edinburgh – SFH067

Patrick Anderson’s Illegal City Meetings – Potterrow, Edinburgh – SFH067

Aug 28, 2020 | Podcast

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A lot was going on in Edinburgh during the time that all meetings outside the parish churches were made illegal. People were gathering for worship in houses every day, right under the noses of the authorities. This is why the story of a not especially well known minister and the street in which he lived on the edge of the Old Town has more to it than meets the eye.