Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building.
Greyfriars Kirkyard
An oil painting of The Signing of the National Covenant in Greyfriars Kirkyard by William Allan (painter) in 1838
Greyfriars Kirkyard with Edinburgh Castle behind
"Non Omnis Moriar" ("Not All of Me Will Die"), Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh
St Giles' Cathedral, or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the addition of the Thistle Chapel. St Giles' is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, including John Knox, who served as the church's minister after the Scottish Reformation.
West façade of the church building
Saint Giles depicted in a boss in the ceiling of the Thistle Chapel
St Giles' in 1647, showing the Tolbooth and Luckenbooths on the north of the church and Parliament House in the kirkyard to its south
David I holds a speculative model of the first St Giles' in a 20th-century window.