The History

North Berwick appears to have originated as the southern port of a ferry crossing from East Lothian to Earlsferry in Fife. This route was used by pilgrims travelling to and from St Andrews.

The first St Andrews Church was built on the promontory where North Berwick harbour now stands. The exact date is uncertain, but the first explicit reference to it is in 1177.

However, the first St Andrews Church collapsed as a result of erosion, and new site was sought for its replacement. The site eventually chosen was just outside the town, immediately south of the High Street, in the street now known as Kirk Ports. The Second St Andrews Church opened for worship in 1664.

Until 1843, St Andrews Church was the town’s only church building. However, by the late 1870s, there were five church buildings in North Berwick. Of these, the oldest and least well appointed was St Andrews.

The second St Andrews Church now stands as a ruin, but was replaced by the Third St Andrews Church – designed by Edinburgh architect Sir Rowand Anderson, and situated on the former Manse site on the High Street. The foundation stone was laid in 1882, and the new building complete by June 1883.

The reference to Blackadder refers to John Blackadder (1615-1685), minister of Troqueer Parish Church in Dumfriesshire. Blackadder was convicted of open-air preaching, then illegal, and sentenced to imprisonment on the Bass Rock, just off the coast of North Berwick. There he died.

In 1843, almost half of the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland left the national Church to form the Free Kirk of Scotland. The Free Kirk people identified their own struggle with the principles for which John Blackadder had lived and died. Accordingly, they named their church Blackadder Free Church.

In 1929, the United Free Church – itself a union of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church – re-united with the Church of Scotland. This gave rise to a situation whereby three Church of Scotland congregations existed in a town which used to be served by just one.

The subsequent decades saw a period of continual flux within the Church of Scotland, until 1988 when St Andrews and Blackadder joined to form the new parish of St Andrew Blackadder.

Looking Forward

Our church has served the community well for over one hundred years, first as St Andrews and Blackadder Churches, and latterly as the home of St Andrew Blackadder.

Like many things in life, needs and demands change in our society and this also affects the Church and its place in the community. In the past the Church's main activity revolved around the Sunday service. Today our Church has a role to play seven days a week, and there is therefore a need to adapt our building to cater for this.

The Church wishes to widen its outreach to provide for some pressing needs in the town: to help young mothers with young children by provision of a crèche; to assist our old folks by giving them a place to meet on a daily basis; to encourage counselling services to use the Church premises during the week; to help those stricken by bereavement or afflicted by drug or alcohol misuse. We want this Church to expand its activities to help to enrich the lives of young and old who need assistance in time of trouble or who seek companionship or relief from the problems of caring.

In 1999, the Kirk Session decided that the present building was unsuited to modern day requirements and, with the support of the Congregation, has undertaken a major improvement and extension of the premises.

This gave rise to the New Century Challenge – a programme of extensive redevelopment which was completed in December 2000. The cost of these major improvements has been met wholly from the congregation, with a loan from central church funds.

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