Rosslyn

Scotland > Central Scotland > Midlothian > Rosslyn

Located on the banks of the River North Esk, this ex mining village is renowned for the famous Chapel and Castle.

Standing on the lip of a cliff high above the river, the castle dates back to the early 14th cent. Destroyed in 1544, it was re-built in 1580.

The chapel with its detailed carvings and sculpture was founded by the Earl of Orkney in 1446. The most striking feature of the chapel is the ribband "Prentice Pillar". Legend has it that the chief mason travelled to Italy to see a pillar design he wanted to do in the chapel. In his absence, an apprentice executed the entwined ribband design seen on the pillar today (revealed to him, he said, in a dream). When the head mason returned to see the completed pillar he was so jealously incensed he struck the apprentice dead!