Located on the north side of the High Street in Dalkeith, St. Nicholas Buccleuch Parish Church, also known as the Auld Kirk or East Kirk, is an ancient foundation which remains in ecclesiastical use today. It is thought that a chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas was built here in the early 12th C. This church gained collegiate status in 1406, when construction of the present cruciform Gothic building began. This was largely completed by 1420 and by that time this was a church of some importance. Later modifications included the addition of a steeple. Following the Reformation, the church was reduced in size, with the choir and apse being abandoned in 1592.
Rev. Robert Wilson became the first minister of the reformed Protestant church in 1565 but it was the arrival of the Rev. William Calderwood (1636-80) as minister in 1659 that led to a huge increase in the numbers of women being accused of witch craft. Calderwood presided over weekly trials held in Dalkeith. The buildings were used by General Monck (1608-70) to billet his troops in 1650 and as stables for their horses. During renovations in 1960 a small coffin containing the remains of Monck's infant son was found.
The roof of the abandoned apse collapsed in 1770 but the main body of the church was restored and partially remodelled 1851-54 by David Bryce (1803-76) and the steeple was rebuilt in 1888 following a fire three years previously. Further restorations took place in 1936 and 2007.
Inside are a number of lofts built by the trades (such as bakers, colliers, dyers, hammermen, shoemakers, skinners and weavers) of Dalkeith for the use of their members. There is a monument to Sir James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton (1426-93) and his wife Princess Joanna (1428-93), daughter of King James I (1394 - 1437), while the Buccleuch vault occupies the former sacristy. A banner of the hammermen, dating from 1665, is displayed within the church. There are also some fine stained glass windows.
St. Nicholas Buccleuch Parish Church was established as a result of the union of St. Nicholas Parish Church and the West Parish Church in 1980.
