Walter Chepman

Walter Chepman was a patron of The High Kirk of Edinburgh, also known as Saint Giles' Cathedral.

Walter Chepman (died 1532) was a Scottish merchant, notary and civil servant active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Chepman served at the Scottish court during the reigns of James IV and James V. In partnership with Androw Myllar he established Scotland's first printing press in 1508. Chepman was also a significant patron of Saint Giles' Kirk in Edinburgh.

Life Memorial to Walter Chepman in St. Giles' Cathedral erected in 1879 by William Chambers LLD. Chepman's first appearance in the historical record is in the accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland for 1494 in which he is recorded as receiving payment for clerical work at the royal court. He would continue to receive such payments for the remainder of his life.

The impression that Chepman was well-educated is supported by the fact that he acted as a notary in and around Edinburgh. His service at court also suggests that he was trusted by King James IV. In 1503, to coincide with the King's marriage, James presented Chepman with a suit of clothes of English fabric. He owned a seven-storey tenement in Edinburgh's Royal Mile at the head of Blackfriars Wynd

Chepman was married twice. His first wife was Margaret Kerkettle and, after being widowed, he married Agnes Cockburn. and was buried in the chapel he had established in the south aisle of the St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, now known as the Chepman Aisle. Androw Myllar was also a burgess of Edinburgh.

Religious Patronage

Walter Chepman paid for the foundation of two chapels at the Kirk of Saint Giles in Edinburgh.

The first chapel, founded in 1513 and abutting to the south of the church, offered masses for the souls of Chepman, his first wife and of the King and Queen. The equivalent part of the modern church is now known as 'The Chepman Aisle'. It contains the seventeenth century tomb of The Marquess of Montrose and a memorial plaque in honour of Walter Chepman donated by the nineteenth century publisher William Chambers.

In 1528 Chepman established a mortuary chapel, now lost, in the cemetery of Saint Giles' Kirk. It was dedicated to the performance of masses in honour of Chepman, both his wives, King James V, King James IV and all the Scots who had died at Flodden.