During the course of the 18th century, there were various secession movements from the Established Church of Scotland. The most significant of these in 1733 an evangelical split constituted themselves a presbytery, subsequently known as the 'Associate Presbytery' or Secession Church.

The Secession Church in Edinburgh bought land to build meeting house or church in April 1741. As the Secession Church was not a legal body it could not buy land, so the property was made out in the names of James Wilson, smith, burgess of Edinburgh and James Bain of Bainfield (Bayne, Bean).

By 1745 the Secession Church had broken up into three presbyteries and became known as the 'Associate Synod.' In 1747 the Secession Church split over taking Burgess oaths, creating two sections: the burghers and the anti-burghers. The anti-burghers became known as the General Associate Synod (Anti-Burghers), as distinct from the Associate Synod (Burghers). Adam Gib was the principal leader of the anti-burghers and he encountered many legal disputes from adherents of the Church of Scotland and the burgher secessionists.