This charming old building is one of the few rural parish churches of
mediæval times still used for divine service. The church seems to have
had its origin in a neighbouring holy well. The following extract from
documents in the Vatican gives some account of its origin and
history:--[116]
“The great number of miracles performed at this well were so
numerous that in 1309 John Abernethy, with the assistance of the
monks of Melrose, procured a shrine to be erected, and dedicated it
to the Holy Mother. In 1413 there were no less than 15,653 pilgrims
of all nations, and the offerings were equal to 1422 merks. In
1430, James I., King of Scotland, being a good man who loved the
Church, built the Abbey of the Holy Cross at Edinburgh, and took
the Chapel of Fairknowe into his protection, added much to it by
the building of houses for the reception of pilgrims, called it
Whitechapel, where he often went and made it a dependant on his own
abbey of the Holy Cross. In 1439, Adam Hepburn of Hailes built a
choir all arched with stone, agreeable to the mode of Peter de
Main, and so it continued in great prosperity as a place of
sanctity until the year 1540, that the cup of vengeance was full,
and heresy covered the North.”
Whitekirk was a dependency of Holyrood, as mentioned in the above
extract. It was a great place of pilgrimage, and was visited, amongst
others, by Pope Pius II. (Æneas Sylvius), who came to render thanks to
the Virgin for his safe landing in Scotland.
In the seventeenth century the east end was used as a church and the
west end as a school. In 1760 the Parish of Tynningham was added to
Whitekirk, and some of the fittings of the former were brought to the
latter. Thus the Haddington gallery in the north transept was adorned
with the front of the gallery from Tynningham. During this century some
attempts have been made to improve the structure. In 1832 a “pseudo
south transept” was built, and the Seacliffe gallery (which resembles a
large Dutch cabinet) was introduced.