Rosslyn Chapel

27 September 2014

My cousin, Vickie, visited in September and gave us another chance to try out our tour guiding skills...

A new place we visited just south of town was the Rosslyn Chapel of Da Vinci Code fame. It was originally built in 1456, but has had a troubled past (closed in 1571 when assets were seized during the Reformation, sacked in 1650, restored and services began again in 1862). It's so amazing to think that this chapel has been here during all the European migration to the New World!

I love flying buttresses so I love this little chapel!

The original plans called for a larger church, but the finished product is much smaller and the unfinished portion is clearly visible. Eventually, they added a small entrance in the unfinished portion.

Original plans (shape of a cross)

View of the chapel as it stands now.

The unfinished portion of the church - you can clearly see that they intended something bigger. The edges of the structure have unfinished walls, but they added the entrance portion later. 

I don't have any photos of the inside (no photos allowed), but there were some interesting features, including:

• An angel playing the bagpipes - oldest depiction of the bagpipe - they were first used in the mid-1400s
• A beautifully carved column - This column was allegedly carved by an apprentice carver inspired by a dream. When the master returned and saw the carving, he supposedly killed the apprentice in a rage
• Mistake or Message? In a stone carving of the 7 Sins and 7 Virtues, Greed and Charity are swapped, with Greed amongst the virtues and Charity now a sin. 
• A crypt that featured in the Da Vinci Code - although it looks a little different and less exciting without Tom Hanks!

One of the saddest things is that in the 1950s they tried to protect the delicate painted internal sculpted features by applying a protective coating to everything. However, they haven't been able to successfully remove it, so all the internal features are less detailed and unpainted. The features are still beautiful and I can only imagine how stunning the chapel would have been prior to the 'saving' of the delicate features...

A few more photos of the beautiful outside of the chapel.

The flying buttresses were beautiful in person, but hard to photograph because they blend in with the stone behind it. 

Dog friendly!

There is a little graveyard just down the hill from the chapel.
It was beautiful and green with storm clouds in the background. 

The chapel is located next to a very beautiful natural area complete with hiking paths, stone walls, and a stream - very beautiful in the fall!

When the wall was built, there was clearly a need for this little pass through.
The tree couldn't have been blocking it, so it just reinforces how old things are. 

No trip is complete without a stop for a pint!
We were happy to be a bit early for the bus :)