Rosslyn Chapel
A tiny Midlothian chapel carved with so many strange figures that it inspired a Dan Brown bestseller, and survived being used as a stable.
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Quick Facts
- Location
- Roslin, near Edinburgh, in the Lothians
- Founded
- 1446, by William St Clair, 3rd Earl of Orkney
- Official name
- Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew
- Completed
- Never fully finished; the planned nave was never built
- Style
- Late Gothic with extraordinarily dense carving
- Famous feature
- The Apprentice Pillar
- Film link
- Climax of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (2003) and its 2006 film
- Restoration
- Major conservation project completed in 2013
The chapel that was only ever half-built
Rosslyn Chapel looks like a complete small church, but it is really the choir of a much grander plan. William St Clair, Earl of Orkney, laid the foundations in 1446 for a collegiate church, a place where priests would sing masses for the souls of the St Clair family. He intended a large cross-shaped building. Only the east end was completed, and William died in 1484, with the work left unfinished. His son Oliver later added a roof and sealed off the west end, creating the compact chapel we see today. That compactness is part of the effect. Every wall, arch and ceiling surface is crammed with stone carving.
Every inch carved
The barrel-vaulted ceiling is covered in stars, flowers and lilies. Carved angels play instruments, and there are scenes of the Seven Acts of Mercy, the Dance of Death and the Last Judgement. Plants feature heavily. Visitors often hunt for the so-called Green Men, foliage-sprouting faces that appear in dozens of places around the building. Look too for the carved plants that some people have long claimed to be maize, though that idea is hotly debated and unproven. The overall impression is of a medieval craftsman's imagination let loose, with sacred imagery and playful oddities side by side.
The tale of the Apprentice Pillar
The most famous piece of carving is the Apprentice Pillar, a column wrapped in spiralling vines with dragons gnawing at its base. Legend says the master mason doubted he could do justice to the design and travelled abroad to study the original. While he was away, his apprentice carved it to perfection. On his return, the furious master struck the boy dead with a mallet. It is a wonderful story and a staple of every guided visit, but it is a legend rather than a record. Look for the carved heads in the corner of the chapel said to represent the murdered apprentice, his grieving mother and the guilty master.
Templars, Grails and a bestseller
Rosslyn's fame today owes much to the idea that it is linked to the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail. The St Clair family did have a long-standing association with Freemasonry, and the chapel's mysterious carving has invited speculation for centuries. Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003, set its finale here, and the 2006 film version brought crowds. Visitor numbers rose sharply afterwards. The real attraction needs no secret treasure story. The building is an exceptional piece of late medieval art, and the legends are an entertaining extra.
Survival against the odds
After the Scottish Reformation of 1560, Catholic worship was banned and the chapel fell out of use. In the following century, during the Civil Wars, Cromwell's troops reportedly stabled their horses here, though the building escaped serious destruction. It was left to decay for years. Damp became a long-term enemy. A cement-based coating applied in the 1950s trapped moisture in the stonework. In 1997 a protective canopy was erected to shelter the chapel and help the stone dry out. It was removed in 2010 during the conservation programme completed in 2013. Today the chapel is cared for by a charitable trust, and services are held here by the Scottish Episcopal Church.
What to look for when you visit
Start with the ceiling and its carved stars, then find the Apprentice Pillar. Hunt for Green Men and the Dance of Death, and see if you can spot the angel musicians. Before leaving, take a walk outside to see the buttresses and the surrounding woodland. Nearby, the dramatic ruins of Roslin Castle stand on a rocky crag above the River North Esk, just a short stroll away.
Notable people
- William St Clair, 3rd Earl of Orkney
- Oliver St Clair
- Dan Brown