Lady Yester's Kirk was a congregation of the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

. The building is located on Infirmary Street in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and was formerly one of the foremost churches in the burgh. It is now used as the joinery workshop for the Estates Division of the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

.

Founded with funds provided by Margaret Ker, Lady Yester (the wife of James Hay, 7th Lord Hay of Yester), the original building was completed in 1647. However, this structure was damaged by Oliver Cromwell's troops during their invasion of Scotland

Third English Civil War

The Third English Civil War was the last of the English Civil Wars , a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists....

, and the building was eventually replaced by the current structure (built 1803-5), designed by William Sibbald, which is a Category B listed building. The current building lies slightly to the west of the original, which was built on the site of the former Blackfriar's Monastery (now the High School Yards).

Due to the depopulation of Edinburgh's Old Town in the early part of the 20th century, in 1938 the congregation merged with Greyfriars Kirk

Greyfriars Kirk

Greyfriars Kirk, today Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, is a parish kirk of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh, Scotland...

, in common with several other nearby churches. There is now the Lady Yester Chapel within Greyfriars Kirk, incorporating various artifacts from the former church building.

Ministers

Lady Yester's was a prestigious appointment, and several notable figures have been the minister, including:

• William Robertson
  William Robertson (historian)
  William Robertson FRSE FSA was a Scottish historian, minister of religion, and Principal of the University of Edinburgh...
  
  
• Hugh Blair
  Hugh Blair
  Hugh Blair FRSE was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse....
  
  
• John Drysdale
• James Finlayson
• John Caird