Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel
Rosslyn Chapel, August 2014
Rosslyn Chapel Shown within Midlothian
55°51′19″N 3°09′37″W / 55.85528°N 3.16028°W / 55.85528; -3.16028
OS grid reference	NT275630
Location	Roslin, Midlothian
Country	Scotland
Denomination	Scottish Episcopal Church
Previous denomination	Catholic Church
Website	www.rosslynchapel.com
History
Status	Chapel
Dedication	Saint Matthew
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Category A
Groundbreaking	20 September 1456
Administration
Diocese	Edinburgh
Clergy
Priest in charge	The Revd Gill Hitchen
Historic site
Listed Building – Category A
Official name	Rosslyn Chapel (Episcopal), formerly Collegiate Church of St Matthew, including vaults, burial ground and boundary hills
Designated	22 January 1971
Reference no.	13028[1]

Rosslyn Chapel, also known as the Collegiate Chapel of Saint Matthew, is a 15th-century Episcopal chapel located in the village of Roslin in Midlothian, Scotland. The chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness with a ground-breaking ceremony in 1456. After the Scottish Reformation in 1560, it was largely abandoned but, following a visit by Queen Victoria, it was rededicated in 1862. It was the target of a bombing in 1914 during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign. The interior contains some fine carvings which many historians have sought to interpret.

Since the late 1980s, the chapel has been the subject of speculative theories concerning a connection with the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail, and Freemasonry. It was prominently featured in this role in Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code (2003) and its 2006 film adaptation. Medieval historians say these accounts have no basis in fact. Rosslyn Chapel remains privately owned.