St. Margaret's Chapel
Encyclopedia
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
, is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. An example of Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, it is a Category A listed building.
Legend had it that St. Margaret
Saint Margaret of Scotland
Saint Margaret of Scotland , also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England...
worshipped in this small chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, but recent research indicates that it was built at the beginning of the 12th century by her fourth son who became King David
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
in 1124. The building has been restored and the interior presents much the same appearance as it did when first in use.
The small irregular stone building has some similarity to earlier Scottish and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic chapels. The rectangular structure with an internal width of 3 metres (10 ft) has an entrance door at one side near the back of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
which is 4.87 m (16 ft) long, then a typically Romanesque round chancel arch 1.52 m (5 feet) wide with chevron mouldings decorating the arch above columns on each side leads into an apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
d sanctuary 3 m long, with the apse having a radius of 1.52 m. The north wall has been renewed, and the three surviving outer walls are 61 cm (2 ft) thick, as is the chancel wall. Five small round-headed windows and the round arch above the entrance door confirm the Romanesque style.
On the night of 14 March 1314 the Castle was captured by Randolph, Earl of Moray, and in accordance with the policy of King Robert the Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
he destroyed all the buildings in the Castle, except for the little chapel. On his death bed in 1329, Bruce spoke of the story of Queen Margaret and issued orders for the chapel's repair, with some forty pounds Scots being put aside for that purpose. For many years afterwards the building was known as the "Royal Chapel in the Castle". There is a fairly frequent record of services held in the chapel, though another and larger chapel was also in use within the Castle.
The chapel fell into disuse at the Protestant Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, and was used as a gunpowder store in the 16th century and as late as 1845. At that time Sir Daniel Wilson publicised the building, and under his supervision restoration was carried out in 1853 with the support of Queen Victoria. A later proposal by Hippolyte Blanc
Hippolyte Blanc
Hippolyte Jean Blanc was a Scottish architect. Best known for his church buildings in the Gothic revival style, Blanc was also a keen antiquarian who oversaw meticulously researched restoration projects.-Early life:...
to enlarge and enrich the chapel was rejected
The stained glass, by Douglas Strachan
Douglas Strachan
Dr. Douglas Strachan was considered the most significant Scottish designer of stained glass windows in the 20th Century. Schooled at Robert Gordon's, he studied art at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, at the Life School of the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, and the Royal Academy in London...
, was installed in 1922 and illustrates St Andrew, St Columba, St Margaret, St Ninian and William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
. In 1929 further work was carried out to bring the chapel back into use, and the restored and refurnished chapel was dedicated on 16 March 1934.
The St. Margaret's Chapel Guild was started in 1942 under the patronage of Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
and the leadership of Lady Russell. In 1993 as commemoration of the 900th anniversary of the death of St Margaret, Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
renovated the chapel and St Margaret's Chapel Guild refurbished it with a new altar cloth, ten bench seats, an alms chest, a flower stand, and a display case for a facsimile of the St Margaret's Gospel book. Members of St Margaret's Chapel Guild now have a tradition of ensuring that there are always fresh flowers in the chapel to welcome visitors, whether tourists, those coming to pray or those taking part in services of Holy Baptism or Holy Matrimony.
Location:
Open all year except 25/26 December and 1/2 January, ticket admission to castle: 9.30–17.15 April–September, closes an hour earlier other months.