Today I got a sleep in...despite someone calling me in the middle of the night AGAIN! I am staying with my Mum's sister (Aunty Martie) and her husband (Uncle Rick) in Newtongrange. Newtongrange is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. It became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890's, with the sinking of the Lady Victoria Colliery. This mine closed in 1981 but today houses the Scottish Mining Museum. My Mum and my Grandparents also lived in this village and my grandfather was the safety officer at the Lady Victoria mine. We are planning a visit there next week. However, today was a nice relaxing morning and then a trip up to see Rosslyn Chapel. Rosslyn Chapel is not far from Newtongrange and is located in the village of Roslin. It was built between 1446 and 1484 and is covered with carvings of individual figures and scenes. It is described as an "Arcitectural Wonder" and a "Library in Stone". People travel from all around the world to see the carvings and there are many different interpretations of their meanings. Rosslyn chapel even featured in the Da Vinci Code when the final message inside the second keystone leads Sophie and Langdon to Rosslyn Chapel. The Chapel really is quite spectacular and there is just so much to see that you really don't know where to look first. The ceiling of the Chapel is divided into 5 compartments depicting daisies, lilies, roses, simple flowers and stars. Nature is a very strong theme throughout the Chapel but like most features in this Chapel there are multiple meanings and lilies and roses are also associated with the Virgin Mary. One of the lintels in the Chapel depicts the Seven Virtues on one side and on the other side the Seven deadly sins. I have learnt throughout my travels and through visiting MANY different churches, that during the Middle Ages when people didn't read, the carvings in Churches were the way that the Church taught the people about good conduct. On one of the windows in the Chapel there is an interesting plant carved. It is thought to be a maize or 'Indian Corn' plant which originates in North America but America is a country thought not to have been discovered unti 1492 by Christopher Columbus. So if North America was not discovered until 1492, how did this carving come to be in the Chapel which was built 50 years earlier? Was it added later, or could it be that the legend of a St Clair knight, William the founder's grandfather, voyaging to Canada in 1398 is true? So much mystery!!!! My favourite thing in the Chapel though, was the "Apprentice Pillar". It gets its name from a legend dating from the 18th century involving the master mason in charge of the stonework in the chapel and his young apprentice. According to the legend, the master mason did not believe that the apprentice could perform the complicated task of carving the column without seeing the original which formed the inspiration for the design. The master mason travelled to see the original himself to research it before coming back to carve it. While he was away the apprentice had a dream about the pillar and he was told in the dream that he could in fact carve the design himself...so he did. When the Master Mason returned, he was enraged to find that his upstart apprentice had completed the column. In a fit of jealous anger the mason struck the apprentice on the head with his mallet, killing him. The Master Mason was then tried and found guilty of murder. The legend concludes that as punishment for his crime, the master mason's face was carved into the opposite corner to forever gaze upon his apprentice's pillar. The Apprentice Pillar is magnificent! They have built a new visitors centre at the chapel and in here we were able to read about the history of the chapel as well as see some of the attempts to restore the Chapel over time. It was interesting to learn that the Chapel was in fact meant to be twice the size that it actually is. They found the foundations for the other half, but it was never built. It is an absolutely fascinating building and I can only imagine how grand it would have been twice its size! During the 50's (I think) they attempted to restore the roof by putting asphalt on it which trapped moisture in the stone and in fact put the chapel at great risk. This has now been fixed and they are continually working to maintain and restore this extraordinary building.
We stopped at Tesco (a supermarket here) on our way home to get a few things for dinner because my cousin Raymond, his wife Maxine and their daughter Emily were coming for a visit.
(you unfortunately can't photograph inside the Chapel so I only got pics outside)
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