Tiffany Glass Window at The Parish Church of St Cuthbert

On the western edge of Princes Street is one of the main shopping arteries in the country’s capital is the Parish Church of Saint Cuthbert. There has been a religious building here since the 7th century, with the current building being constructed prior to the beginning of the 20th century. Located inside, on the northern wall, is one of only three examples of a stained glass window manufactured by the Tiffany Company in all of Scotland.

The image is of the biblical figure David on his way to take up arms against the giant Goliath. The window was designed by the New York-based, Art Nouveau-inspired company in 1903. It depicts David with a stone and sling in hand, approaching a battlefield of tents. The stained glass is meant to memorialize those who fought and died in the Boer War. 

The other two examples of artwork produced by Tiffany & Co., in Scotland, are found in Dunfermline Abbey and Fyvie Kirk, Aberdeenshire. The window in Dunfermline was commissioned by the Scottish-born, American industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The other was paid for by a grieving mother whose son, Percy Forbes-Leith, died of Typhoid Fever while fighting in the Boer War.

The church also has a connection to those who are interested in murder mystery novels. The author Agatha Christie married her second husband, Max Maollowman, in the memorial chapel in 1930.