St Giles’ files
Season 1
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This is the first episode of the St Giles’ Files. Jess, Ciara and Stephen will be attempting the audacious task of summing up St Giles’ and what Cathedral means.
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In this, the second episode of the St Giles’ Files, Jess, Ciara and Stephen will be exploring the many architectural restorations of St Giles’ and take on a question for the ages. Who did it better, Burn or Chambers? Which of these two Williams worked best on St Giles’. Once again, expect the definitive answer and also, maybe the genesis of a theme to be carried through in future episodes. Also expect sparks to fly as Ciara and Stephen engage in a debate battle for the first time.
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In episode 3 of the St Giles’ files, Jess, Ciara and Stephen discuss something that has been watching over Edinburgh for hundreds of years; St Giles’ tower and more specifically, the weathercock.
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In this episode, Stephen and Ciara discuss the various clock and bells of St Giles’ and there have been more than you might think… From common thievery to meat cages, this episode has it all.
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In this episode, we discuss an entry ticket. First we try to date the ticket, then we discuss the ephemeral nature of a ticket, and whether this ticket’s survival means anything and finally, we discuss who might have used the ticket and why.
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In this episode, a rather Stephen introduces you to a piece of pretty important stone- as stone goes- then discusses the ramifications of this stone.
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In this episode, Stephen attempts to explore some of the lesser discussed aspects of the National Covenant of Scotland; Who signed it, is it a better document than we can produce now, what does the Covenant tell us about our historiography and most importantly, was it signed in blood?
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In this episode, Stephen introduces the memorial to Margaret Oliphant, the writer, and then explores thee idea of memorials and what role St Giles’ has to play in memorialising.
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In this episode, Stephen reacquaints us with Jenny Geddes, tells a few stories, and reads a couple of account from our volunteer guides. Then, he’ll discuss how oral histories and stories are treated in our understanding of history. Another tricky subject!
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In this episode Stephen tackles the question of historical siting; do objects gain anything from being at the historical site, why are museums important and does being close to history make it more accessible?
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In this episode, Stephen introduces two objects, oddly both arm bones, that St Giles’ might have- or could have- had and goes on to introduce some objects from St Giles’ that currently reside in museums. In a slightly shorter than usual episode, Stephen introduces the topic of who keeps history, specifically objects, and is there anyone who decides what objects we should throw away? Golly, tricky question.
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In this episode Stephen talks through some unseen objects- unseen whether due to them being hidden, or due to them being overlooked. He starts by introducing an unseen window, then moves to some other St Giles’ related things, and concludes with a discussion on how old doesn’t necessarily mean good when it comes to history.
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In this episode, Stephen presents the Thistle Chapel, and discusses some of its uses. From there, the different uses of St Giles’ itself are explored, by finally exploring the uses of churches and cathedrals themselves, and questioning whether they are returning now to a similar use as they had previously.
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In this episode, Stephen elaborates on last week’s episode and digs deeper into what St Giles’ has been used for. First, he looks at some events at the turn of the Twentieth Century then, compares these to events he has seen in St Giles’ and finally, discusses if St Giles’ does a good job as it is often seen as the spiritual centre of Scotland.
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In this episode, Stephen presents the beams of St Giles’ in the tower as the ‘object’ and discusses their recent dating by a dendrochronology project led by Dr Coralie Mills. This project has finally allowed us to shake the myth that some of the timber came from the Spanish Armada. Stephen then explores other St Giles’ myths around objects, and finally, discusses why these myths come about and if they are of any use.
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After a few weeks off (sorry, we were reopening the Cathedral to visitors) not only is St Giles’ files back, but so is Ciara! She’s been noting down all her repsonses to Stephen’s thoughts over the last few months. In this episode, she takes a second look at memorials to continue the discussion as how we use St Giles’ as a memorialising space and what that tell us about Scotland and its history. If you haven’t, maybe give Stephen’s episode a listen first, as Ciara does reference it (you can find it here).
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This week Ciara charts the history of the organ at St Giles, and discusses what music has meant, and means today, to the cathedral and its people. Apologies for some background noise in this episode, soundproof rooms are hard to come by in 900 year old buildings!
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This week we take a look at some of St Giles’ strangest and most mystical architecture: the Green Man. Bridging the gap between pagan symbolism and Christian art, the Green Men are tricky to pin down, but fascinating to learn about!
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If eyes are the windows to the soul, are windows the eyes of the building? This week we tackle similarly exciting questions with a focus on the windows of the cathedrals and their history.
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We’ve reached episode 20! Thanks for sticking with it. So, to mark this momentous occasion, Ciara brings you the following.
Known as the Father of the Scottish Reformation, what was John Knox up to before he became the minister of St Giles’? In the first of a two-part episode we explore the early life of Knox, and what he might have really been like.
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To give Ciara another chance for a John Knox pun, this is the second part of the promised two parter on John Knox. Enjoy.
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This week, St Giles himself is the topic of the podcast, as we take a look at the saint whose legend made its way from Athens to France, Rome, the Rhineland, and finally Edinburgh. Who was he, and what does he mean to us today?
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Although St Giles’ was built 900 years ago, there is always more to be done! This week’s podcast looks at more modern restoration work that has been done, including projects that are being implemented today
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St Giles’ may not be the biggest cathedral around, but it is packed with interesting and varied history, and this is especially true of our aisles. Some have existed since the building’s inception, others are a little newer, and all have their own stories to tell.
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To round off Halloween, Ciara asks: ‘where did our graveyard go?’ Tune in for some history on the cathedral’s early burial techniques, the fate of some unlucky Covenanters and Royalists, and even a few spooky tales…