© 2018 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
A chapel and a castle?
After visiting Rosslyn Chapel, take a walk down the picturesque country road, past Rosslyn Cemetery.
Taking in the beautiful countryside scenery, you will soon find yourself encountering the ruins of Rosslyn Castle, a sharp contrast to the well-preserved chapel that we had just visited.
Perched high on a bluff, in the middle of a wooded valley and surrounded on three sides by the River North Esk, are the remnants of the Sinclair family manor. Only accessible by a narrow bridge crossing a wide ravine, the remains are quite a surprise, hidden away in the dense forest.
The building of the castle was begun in 1304 by William St. Clair of Rosslyn and over the next three centuries reinforced, bombarded, rebuilt, extended, burned and all but destroyed. Since it never was a very secure structure, it became the home for many generations of Sinclairs, until William, died in 1778. After a visit by Cromwell’s troops, the castle was left pretty much in the same condition as it can be seen today.
While crossing the bridge, it’s difficult to imagine what may have once been here, but still impressive nonetheless. Gone is the original Wall Tower, the earliest part of the castle and the gatehouse over the entrance, but fragments of the fore walls still stand tall at the end of the walkway.
A French influenced two story home stands to the left of the courtyard, also built by William Sinclair, when he extended the castle between 1582 and 1597. Though the home is still in good condition, it is not accessible to the public.
As we descended a path near the start of the bridge, we walked beneath the remaining castle walls toward the river’s edge. Here, gardens once prospered and provided food for those who resided in the castle. The river gurgled and wound its way through the forest and we walked over the footbridge to take a closer look. We learned later that there is a scenic river walk from the ruins of the Roslin Gunpowder Mills, through what used to be a carpet factory and cottages, across the North Esk, around the castle, below the chapel via Gardener’s Brae and to Hawthornden and beyond.
Taking the short walk on our return back to the bus stop, we stopped for a few moments to pay our respect at the Rosslyn Cemetery.
While out at Rosslyn Chapel, make time to explore the forgotten ruin, an important part of Scotland’s and the Sinclair family history.
For more pictures, check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe.
Rosslyn Castle
A most breathtaking structure, its architecture is considered to be amongst the finest in the country. Construction began on the chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, in 1456, by William Sinclair, the First Earl of Caithness for worship by the Sinclair family. After the Scottish Reformation in 1560, Roman Catholic worship in the chapel ended. It was then closed to public worship until 1861, and then opened again according to the rites of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Circling the church, we admired and photographed the carvings on all of the chapel’s outer walls. Though some are harder to distinguish than others, it was easy to pick out a fox running off with a goose (with the farmer’s wife close behind) on the north wall and faces carved into the window arches along with animals such as a stag and a ram. The west wall shows how the chapel was originally intended to be a much bigger building with doorways, which would have led to a nave (now blocked) and other features not normally found on exterior walls (as this was not planned to be one).
Eight Nordic dragons ring the base of an ornate pillar and more than 110 carvings of pagan deities known as Green Men can be found throughout the chapel. These human faces are surrounded by greenery, often growing out of their mouths. One arch depicts figures waltzing with their future skeletons and a double humped camel and bunches of maize can be spotted, both not found in Scotland. Stories from both the New Testament and the Old Testament are illustrated as well as 213 cubes protruding from pillars and arches with patterns on them. It is speculated that these patterns may have meaning, some thinking it is a musical score. Though there is much conjecture about the carvings and their meanings, not much is known as several fires at the nearby Rosslyn Castle consumed much of the St. Clair family’s archives and documentation on the chapel.
Originally planned in a cruciform shape, the chapel stands on fourteen pillars. The three pillars at the east end of the chapel, the Journeyman Pillar, the Master Pillar and the Apprentice Pillar all date from the Georgian period. The most interesting of the three, the Apprentice Pillar has a most intriguing legend attached to it. The master mason had decided the pillar to be too difficult to carve and had departed to Italy to study with other masons. His apprentice, however, decided to carve the pillar in his absence. When the master mason returned and saw the outstanding work, he killed the apprentice with his mallet. The wounded head of the apprentice was then carved into one capital of the pillar and his weeping mother was carved into another.
Descending into the sacristy, we were aware that it is also known as the crypt, though not the actual burial vault that lies underneath the chapel where several generations of Sinclairs rest. The actual crypt was once accessible from a descending stair at the rear of the building, however, it was sealed shut many years ago. Legends have resulted from the knowledge of this sealed crypt, many believing that it was a front for a more extensive subterranean vault which may have contained the reputed Templar treasure. In 1837, when the 2nd Earl of Rosslyn passed away, his wish was to be buried in the original vault. Though searches were conducted for many days, no entrance was found and he was buried beside his wife in the Lady Chapel.
The chapel, still owned by descendants of its founder, Sir William St. Clair is now guided by a trust that oversees the site. It is this trust that forbids the photography within the building. Several books are for sale within the gift shop offering a look at the unique interior published by the trust. Though photography is banned, other tourists were also spotted sneaking photos throughout their visit. After inquiring about the organ, we were allowed to photograph the area as this was not part of the original building.