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Rosslyn Chapel is at the Village of Roslin
in central Scotland, 7 miles south of Edinburgh,
built from 1446 for Sir William Sinclair.
Roslin is popular for Rosslyn Chapel,
Roslin Castle,
and Roslin Glen Country Park.
The Chapel is open for visits almost every day
of the year with an entrance fee. Postcode:
EH25 9PU
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Camping & Touring Parks in
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The image top is of the Rosslyn Chapel
Visitor Centre from the two large car
parks.
The second image is of the interior of the
Visitor Centre with a Cafe, Shop, and
Museum.
Rosslyn Chapel was built from 1446 for Sir
William Sinclair.
The Crypt of Rosslyn Chapel is believed to
be the oldest part of the Chapel, where some
claim the Knights Templar hid their Treasure in
the 1300s, in underground vaults, including the
Holy Grail, a
Cup that provides Eternal Youth.
Down behind the Chapel is an old Cemetery
and Roslin Castle, part ruin, part still in use
as a Holiday Home.
The Old Cemetery has the remains of a Chapel
from the 1300s? and the original Chapel was
built inside the Castle in the early 1300s.
Roslin Glen Country Park is down past the
Castle via a Riverside Walk, or drive around to
the main south entrance.
The centre of Roslin is about half of a mile
north of Rosslyn Chapel with an Inn with a
restaurant and cocktail bar.
Rosslyn Chapel History
1066 - St Clair's from Saint-Clair in
Normandy, France, travel to England with
William the Conqueror, taking part in the
Battle of Hastings. They later move north to
Scotland, where they become a prominent Clan
supporting Scottish Kings.
1000s - the de Roskelyn family held the land
at Roslin.
1280 - Sir William St. Clair, Sheriff of
Edinburgh, was awarded the land of Roslin by
King Alexander II, after Henry de Roskelyn
seems to have been persuaded by the King to
give up the land.
1300s - the earliest parts of Roslin Castle
were built for the Sinclair family, becoming
Barons of Roslin, Earls of Orkney, and Earls of
Caithness, with the original Chapel said to be
in Roslin Castle.
A second Chapel is said to have been built
at the Cemetery between the Castle and where
Rosslyn Chapel was built, little remains of
that building, at the bottom end of the
Gravyard seen in the image right, down past the
little building on the right.
1446 - Rosslyn Chapel was built for William
Sinclair, 11th Baron of Roslin, 3rd Earl of
Orkney, and 1st Earl of Caithness, under the
original name - Collegiate Chapel of St
Matthew.
1544 - Roslin Castle was damaged by fire
when the Earl of Hertford's army attacked
during the War of the Rough Wooing. A
time Henry the VIII of England wanted Mary
Queen of Scots to marry his son, to unite
Scotland and England. The Castle was rebuilt
soon after.
1560 - the Scottish Reformation made
Catholic worship in Scotland illegal. The
Sinclair's however, as with many others,
continued to be Catholics in secrete, although
Rosslyn Chapel was closed to the public at that
time.
1650 - Roslin Castle and Chapel were damaged
during the English Civil War, as many Scots
backed the Royals, leading to the
Parliamentarians invading Scotland.
1688 - Roslin Castle and Chapel were again
damaged during the Reformation, a time the
remaining Catholic's were being pressured to
adopt Protestantism.
1861 - Rosslyn Chapel was re-opened to the
public as a place of worship, as a Scottish
Episcopal Church, with these Protestant
Churches being run similar to Catholic Churches
in Scotland from the 400s - 1500s, with
Bishops, although these Bishops were chosen by
local Elders, not the Royals as had been the
way before.
1890 - Francis Robert St Clair-Erskine, 4th
Earl of Rosslyn died. He was credited with
restoring Rosslyn Chapel. His Grave is next to
the Chapel, easily found with its large red
sandstone Memorial.
1982 to 1988 - the east range of Roslin
Castle was restored for the 7th Earl of
Rosslyn. That part of the Castle is now leased
as Holiday Accommodation.
1980s - Rosslyn Chapel became a place of
interest for people searching for the Knights
Templar Treasure, including the Holy Grail.
2003 - Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci
Code sees Rosslyn Chapel searched for
information on the Nights Templar Treasure.
2006 - a Film based on Brown's novel was
made starring Tom Hanks, named The Da Vinci
Code, with part of the Film shot at Rosslyn
Chapel.
Today - The owner of the Chapel is Peter St
Clair-Erskine, 7th Earl of Rosslyn.
Strange Rosslyn, Fact or Fiction -
There is an Ornate Pillar in the Chapel
named the Apprentice Pillar. The Master Mason
returned to the building of Rosslyn Chapel to
find an Apprentice had completed the column by
himself. In a fit of anger, the Master Mason
struck the Apprentice on the head with his
mallet, killing him.
There are over 110 Carvings of Green Men
throughout the Chapel, Carvings of Human Faces
with greenery around them, even growing out of
their mouths.
Carvings also seem to show Corn or Maize
that was unknown in Europe at the time of
Rosslyn Chapel's construction.
Henry I
Sinclair, 9th Baron of Roslin, 1st Earl of
Orkney, is claimed to have traveled to the
Americas in 1398, landing in Nova Scotia, with
Columbus not landing in America until 1492.
William Sinclair, 11th Baron of Roslin,
became the 3rd Earl of Orkney in 1434, with him
building Rosslyn Chapel in 1446, some people
think it was his time in Orkney that he learned
about Corn in America.
Knights Templar Treasure Hunters think the
Sinclair's either hid the Treasure at Rosslyn
Chapel, or took it to North America in
1398.
Oak Island at
Nova Scotia in Canada has had many deep holes
dug in it looking for the Treasure, with Rick
and Marty Lagina still digging in 2026, with
the brothers visiting Rosslyn Chapel in
2014.
It is said there are 10 Barons of Roslin
buried in a Chamber beneath Rosslyn Chapel,
dressed in armour, not in coffins, sealed off
in the 1600s.
The 10th Baron died in 1420, before Rosslyn
Chapel was built, so the 10 Barons may be
burried below the Chapel in the Castle, or the
Chapel ruins at the Graveyard, or they were
moved to Rosslyn Chapel when it was being
built. They may have been sealed off when
Rosslyn Chapel was being attacked by Reformers
in the 1600s, along with any other historic
valuables.
The Knights Templar were being persecuted in
France by King Philip IV and the Pope in the
early 1300s. Some are said to have escaped by
boat to Scotland, taking with them Treasure
they had acquired in the Middle East, including
the Holy Grail - Cup of Life, and Arc of the
Covenant with amazing powers. Some Historians
claim the Templar visited the St Clair's at
Roslin as they originated from France.
Robert the Bruce was fighting at that time
to become King of Scotland, leading to him
being Excommunicated by the Pope. This is why
many people believe the Templar's traveled to
Scotland, as Scotland was then not under the
influence of the Pope.
Some people even claim it was the sight of
these Templar and Sinclair's at the Battle
of Bannockburn, alongside The Bruce, that
led to the English fleeing, although this claim
has never been verified.
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