A visit to the Duke's former chapel on the grounds of Dalkeith House simply reinforces my impression that Scotland is a major hotbed of sectarianism. While the population is not particularly religious (maybe 4%-6% admit attending services regularly), even nominal religious affiliation is a highly charged matter. Whether it's football, or church-supported religious schools, or links to English religious roots, religion in Scotland is not something to be dismissed.
At the chapel of St. Mary the Virgin, a Scottish Episcopal Church, the pamphlet on the history of the church makes it very clear that this church, and the larger denomination, have nothing to do with the Anglican Church in that not-to-be- named country to the south. Rather, the Episcopal Church in Scotland is derived from the early Irish church. And the unknowing who refer to it as the English church, or the Anglican church, are gently but firmly corrected.
And, much more interestingly, this church boasts a water-powered organ, one of two remaining in Scotland. I didn't hear it, as it appears to be tempermental--so much so that the congregation has invested in a digital keyboard.
