Wednesday, March 26th, 2025
Our first stop today was in Roslin, Scotland. This village was known for the Roslin Institute which created, Dolly, the world’s first cloned sheep in 1997 and the late Gothic and mysterious Rosslyn Chapel.
Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 and took forty years to build.
“Legend has it that underneath the chapel, buried behind a stone wall and set back from the detailed wall carvings, is a spartan stone crypt. Buried even deeper is said to be the treasure of the Knights Templar. There is no solid evidence that suggests the Holy Grail is or ever was present at Rosslyn Chapel.” (https://www.rosslynchapel.com/) It certainly added to the mystery of the Chapel.
The Chapel was abandoned due to the Reformation and it fell into disrepair from 1592-1736. In 1736 General James St. Clair ordered repairs. Then in 1837 when James Alexander St. Clair-Erskine became 3rd Earl of Rosslyn more repairs happened. The process used for its repairs caused damage. In March, 1997 a free-standing steel structure was erected to cover the Chapel to allow it to “dry out”!
So in May, 2012, the restored organ accompanied the inaugural performance of the Rosslyn Psalm by Howard Goodall to celebrate the completion of the Rosslyn Chapel Conservation program.
Notice all of the ornate carvings on the outside of the Chapel. One could find carvings of plants, animals and human figures.
Across from the main entrance to the Chapel was a memorial to Frances Robert St. Clair-Erskine, the 4th Earl of Rosslyn (1833-1890). It stood 20 feet tall and was erected in 1899.
The symbolism in the ornate stonework in the Chapel added to its mystery. No photos were permitted but I have included a few photos from the book, Rosslyn Chapel by The Earl of Rosslyn.
The pillar carved by the Master Mason was less elaborate than his apprentice’s pillar! The story was that the Master Mason went out of town to get ideas before he carved the other pillar. While he was gone his young apprentice had a dream that he finished the pillar and so he did. When the Master Mason returned and saw the beautifully finished pillar he was so upset he struck his young apprentice with his mallet. He killed the apprentice instantly and was hung for his crime.
Looking back toward the choir loft you could see the carvings of those involved in the Apprentice Pillar. In the left corner was the apprentice with a scar on his forehead and near him was his grieving mother. In the opposite corner was the master mason and he forever had to look at the Apprentice’s Pillar.
The inside and outside of the Rosslyn Chapel had close to 100 green men carvings. These were faces with foliage coming from their mouths.
Below were a few more examples of the symbols and carvings in the Chapel. We would highly recommend visiting this curious chapel.
The Sacristy (crypt) was reached by going down a steep set of steps. It was believed that this crypt was older than the chapel. It was used as a workshop during the years the Chapel was being built. It rose to fame because of The Da Vinci Code.
We first read about Rosslyn Chapel in Dan Brown’s book, The Da Vinci Code, in 2003. We also saw the movie in 2006. The book and the movie combined to make Rosslyn Chapel known worldwide. Visitor numbers grew substantially thanks to The Da Vinci Code.
Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott, a 19th century novelist was our next stop. It was located on the banks of the River Tweed.
Sir Walter Scott wrote his most acclaimed works Ivanhoe, Rob Roy and The Lady of the Lake here at Abbotsford. He was in significant debt because of the 1825 banking crisis in the U.K. In today’s market his debt was in the millions. He didn’t want to lose Abbotsford so he put his home and income in a trust belonging to his creditors. His plan was to write himself out of debt. When he died he still owed money but his books kept selling and it wasn’t long before his estate was debt free. His home was opened to the public in 1833 by his family.
Sir Walter Scott was an obsessive collector of books, artifacts, and weaponry. His library was filled with his collection of books as the last two photos show.
The photos below show part of his weapon collection.
Click through the slideshow below to see more of Scott’s beautiful home.
The chapel was added in 1855 by Sir Walter Scott’s granddaughter, Charlotte and her husband James Robert Hope. Much of the chapel was covered in plastic sheets because a bird kept getting in and the staff wanted to figure out how it was able to access this historic space.
The robes below were gifted to Mary Monica, the daughter of James and Charlotte by Cardinal Newman who was a close friend.
Witch Corner was located on our way to visit Abbotsford. It had stories and sculptures that were inspired from the writings and research of Sir Walter Scott. The name Witch Corner came from Scott’s nickname for his favorite section of his enormous library. This section was on witchcraft, magic, folklore, superstition and consisted of 250 rare books.
This evening some of our group would be flying home tomorrow. We had a group dinner at MacKays on the Mile restaurant.
The main course was traditional Scottish food: Haggis, turnips, and mashed potatoes!
Another great day for us! Tomorrow we leave Edinburgh for England.
