The ruined old Newton Church is in an isolated field and almost inaccessible but I managed to see it in a gap on the high wall which encloses the huge Dalkeith Park estate.   In 1742 it was replaced by one about three kilometres away and news this week is that this too will close next January as part of the Church of Scotland’s restructuring plans.
This is all that remains of the old parish church dedicated to St Mary. The new parish was formed from the old Parishes of Newton and Woolmet. The church used to house three "isles", or aisles, around the main body, dedicated to Newton, Sheriffhall and Edmonstoun, local estates. The church was the venue for the illegal marriage of Lord Linton and Lady Seton (circa 1630) and later the union of Lady Margaret Leslie of Sheriffhall and the Earl of Weymss on 13th January 1653. There used to be a small manse but this is now gone, although a few tombstones still remain in what was once the kirkyard. Pre-1700, the colliers who worked the nearby mines were buried in unconsecrated ground and not able to attend the church, but a petition in 1725 allowed them to worship in a purpose built loft from 1732 onwards. The church was deemed as geographically unsuitable for "parish" worship and a more central site was chosen. It closed in 1742, when the new church opened. Since then, the main part of the church has been lost, but the tower was preserved as an eyecatcher for the landscape and pleasure grounds of Dalkeith Palace.