Craigour Gardens, Edinburgh EH17 7NX
The Tron Kirk is a former parish church in the High Street, built in the 1630s. One of its ministers was William Colville (c.1612–1675) who served at the church between 1641 and 1648. He was also a scholar, and he went on to serve as Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1662 to 1675. In 1643, he was one of the investigators who interrogated the accused Edinburgh witches Janet Barker and Margaret Lauder. Both were named as witches by a previous confessing witch, Janet Cranston, who was Barker’s next-door neighbour. Their confessions, probably obtained under torture, included stereotyped tales of renouncing their baptism and having sex with the Devil. These ideas came more from educated demonology than from popular belief, indicating the role of educated ministers like William Colville. Lauder later tried to retract her confession, but the court convicted her anyway. Both Barker and Lauder were tried in the Old Tolbooth and sentenced to be strangled and burned at Castlehill on 29 December 1643.

The Tron Kirk from
Hunter Square
©N. Chadwick,
Wikimedia Commons
The Tron Kirk was closed as a church in 1952. In recent years the building has been used as a tourist information centre and as a craft market. The name comes from the weighing beam (‘tron’ in Scots), serving the public market.
Sources:
- Wikipedia: Tron Kirk
- Wikipedia: William Colvill(e)