Watercolour of a place steeped in myth.
Rosslyn Chapel is a stunning 15th-century Gothic chapel near Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair, it’s celebrated for its extraordinarily intricate stone carvings.
Built as a collegiate chapel dedicated to St. Matthew, construction began on St. Matthew’s Day in 1446 but halted after William St Clair’s death in 1484, leaving the planned cathedral incomplete. It survived Reformation damage, was rededicated in 1862 as an Episcopalian chapel, and remains owned by the St Clair-Erskine family, current Earl and Countess of Rossly
Famous for its vaulted ceilings, pillars, and over 100 Green Men carvings symbolizing rebirth, plus alleged depictions of maize (sparking pre-Columbian contact theories). Highlights include the spiraling Apprentice Pillar—tied to a legend of an apprentice murdered by a jealous master mason—and the Lady Chapel with its tombs and stained glass.
Famous for its vaulted ceilings, pillars, and over 100 Green Men carvings symbolizing rebirth, plus alleged depictions of maize (sparking pre-Columbian contact theories). Highlights include the spiraling Apprentice Pillar—tied to a legend of an apprentice murdered by a jealous master mason—and the Lady Chapel with its tombs and stained glass.
 
Interesting facts...
Legends claim Knights Templar fled to Scotland after 1307 persecution, hiding artifacts like the Holy Grail, Ark of the Covenant, or Jesus’s mummified head in sealed vaults beneath the chapel. The St. Clair family allegedly aided them, with Templar symbols and knight carvings cited as evidence—though historians dismiss these as baseless, noting the chapel’s 1446 construction post-dates Templar dissolution.
The spiraling pillar, inspired by an apprentice’s dream during the master mason’s absence, supposedly depicts DNA-like helices or biblical motifs. Jealous, the master killed him; carvings show the apprentice’s head with a forehead wound opposite the master’s vengeful face!