Canongate was a Scottish burgh outside of Edinburgh. In 1688, King James VII of Scotland approved the building of this town church. Canongate Kirk was complete in 1691. Since then, the congregation was split during the Disruption of 1843 and the town was absorbed into Edinburgh in 1856. The road in front became Canongate, the lower end of The Royal Mile between the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Edinburgh Castle. The neighborhood suffered a serious decline and is now part of an active tourist district. The church building was significantly altered in 1882 but then restored in the 1950s and early 1990s. In short, after over 300 years of surrounding change, this humble church and its adjoining graveyard have remained remarkably unscathed.
