The Medieval Religious Landscape of Edinburgh

In this talk, Professor Adam Cumming will take you through the medieval religious landscape of Edinburgh, with a particular focus on churches and shrines. With a lifelong interest in church architecture and history, his work has taken him across Europe allowing him to observe church architecture and approaches to religious practice.

Biography: Prof Cumming has worked as a research scientist for over 40 years in defence field. He was made an Honorary Professor in the University of Edinburgh School of Chemistry. He is an Associate Editor of two academic journals and is the editor of several books in his field. He is very active in supporting networking and collaboration both nationally and internationally and takes part in or chairs several scientific committees for conferences. He has a life-long interest in church architecture and history, particularly Scottish, and this led him to become a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland as well as membership of other related organisations. He became firstly a supporter and then a Trustee of Scotland’s Churches’ Trust before becoming its Chair in October 2022. He has lectured on Scottish church architecture to the National Trust for Scotland amongst others. His work involvements have allowed him to visit many churches across Europe and has observed similarities in approach and architecture. Interest in music is reflected in his support for both the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He and his wife Lesley live in Cramond where he is a member of Cramond Kirk Session.

This talk will take place at Holyrood Park Education Centre (1 Queen's Drive, Edinburgh EH8 8HG).