About this Event
The Scottish Church History Society's autumn conference will take place at the Grassmarket Community Project in central Edinburgh on 21 November 2026 and will be on the theme of 'Crucibles of Change in Scotland's Christian History'. We regret that it will not be possible to conduct this event in a hybrid format. The full programme can now be found below.
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9am – Registration and coffee
9.25 – Welcome
9.30 – Panel 1
Sophie Johnson and David Jamieson – ‘Uneven and Combined Development in the Scottish Reformation: Addressing the Peculiarities of 1559-1560’
Andrew Spicer – ‘Redrawing the parochial landscape of post-Reformation Scotland’
Chris Langley – ‘Where did all the bishops go? Scottish episcopal identity and the experience of exile, 1637-42’
11am – Coffee break
11.30 – Keynote lecture from Professor Scott Spurlock (University of Glasgow), ‘Ulster as a Laboratory for the Covenanting Revolution’
12.30 – Lunch
1.15 – Panel 2
Paul Hauser – ‘The vulnerabilities of Church Establishment: The Church of Scotland and Alyth parish before and after the Great Disruption’
Matthew Mundt – ‘A new model of Christian care? The Edinburgh Orphan Hospital and childhood welfare in eighteenth-century Scotland’
Laura Mair and John Sawkins – ‘"Able supporters and advocates"’: Children as economic and philanthropic agents for the Edinburgh Original Ragged School, 1847-1861’
2.45 – Coffee break
3.15 – Panel 3
Marjory Harper – ‘The Disruption and the diaspora: Secession, migration and emigration in nineteenth-century Scotland’
Andrew Allen – ‘Mission in the mines: Investigating Faith Mission’s early twentieth century focus on evangelising the central belt’
Gemma King – ‘The Baird Trust and the rise of broadcast media’
4.45 – Closing remarks
Tickets are priced at £20, which covers lunch and coffee breaks. SCHS members and students are entitled to a subsidised rate of £5. If you are interested in joining the Society, you can do so here.
Event venue & nearby stays
Grassmarket Community Project & Coffee Saints Cafe, 86 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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