"In the early 1900s, plans were announced to rebuild the 1719 church, then known as the "Scottish National Church", and the landlord, the Duke of Bedford, promised "special advantages" if the project were undertaken. A member of the congregation was the exceptionally well-connected Lady Balfour, and she had ensured her brother-in-law was supportive of the scheme. That the brother-in-law happened to be the Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour tended to help. Oh, and the architect was Lady Balfour's husband, Eustace Balfour."
"In a way, it's an odd church to visit, as there's a plain church hall on the ground floor, and the church is upstairs on the first floor. Not unique, but unusual. What is unusual is the doors, they're covered with padded leather. Inside is a church that appears much older than its 1909 construction, with deeply carved wood panels, old oak pews, and a huge coat of arms at the far end, beneath a wooden ceiling."
A Scottish Presbyterian congregation formed in London after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and likely used a chapel in Scotland Yard. Formal records of the Kirk of the Crown of Scotland date to 1710, and a plot near Covent Garden was purchased in 1718 with a church opening in 1719. The 1719 building was rebuilt and dedicated on 19 December 1909 at a cost of about £11,000, backed by Lady Balfour and Prime Minister Arthur Balfour; Eustace Balfour was the architect. The church has a plain ground-floor hall and an upstairs sanctuary, padded leather doors, carved wood panels, old oak pews, and a large coat of arms; seating was once semicircular.
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