Rosslyn Chapel

[Tomdaviesclay]

Rosslyn Chapel model was created by Roger Pattenden of Heritage Models (Rosslyn Chapel). Mike Stamper posted his model of Rosslyn Chapel last year on Papermodelers. Mike and Roger are friends, and Mike test built the model for Roger.

It only took me two days to build the wonderful little model. Rosslyn Chapel is near Edinburgh, and will be one of our stops next month on our cathedralquest adventure to Scotland and England. All of the parts fit together nicely with a good set of instructions. The model appears to be true to the actual color. The most time consuming part were the 38 buttresses.

Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 as the collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew by Sir William St. Clair. It took more than 40 years to complete and was not finished until after Sir William's death in 1484. In 1571 Protestant reformers seized the building and over the years it fell into a state of disrepair. In the 1800s the St. Clair family began to work to restore the interior of the building. About 1862 the Chapel was once again working church. There are countless theories, myths and legends associated with this Chapel. Rosslyn Chapel's mysteries played a significant role in Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code. Since that time, the number of visitors to Rosslyn Chapel has risen by 56 percent and the chapel is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Scotland. After 14 years of refurbishing, the exterior scaffolding was removed this past April, now allowing the visitor a full view of this architectural gem.

I received my model as a Christmas present last year from a lady who had taken my Cathedral Architecture class at the Northern Virginia Community College's Lifetime Learning Class several years ago. She had visited Rosslyn Chapel during the summer and found the kit in the gifts shop and thought of me. She bought it and sent it to me for Christmas. When I teach, I take my models to class. It was a very kind of her to remember my great love for these models.

[KCStephens]

Very well done, Thomas, another beautiful model in your collection! I look forward to seeing it along with your other models up close in person this October at the IPMC in Sterling VA.

[Don Boose]

Beautiful model, Thomas, and interesting history. I wonder if Rosslyn, Virginia, derives its name from this place.

Don

[Kevin WS]

That's nice.

I ordered this one just the other day and look forward to making it.

[Mike Stamper]

A nice model, Thomas.

I hope you enjoy your trip, when we visited, the scaffolding was still up and we were able climb up and see the details on the roof and buttresses. Now you can only see from the ground - take binoculars !

The odd oversized wall at the front was originally built as part of a much larger church that never got built. I must admit that the church is not one of the best looking from the outside - but you will find that the interior is one of the quirkiest buildings you can find.

Roger tells me that because of the numbers, they have built a new reception area - about twice the size of the original.

Cheers
Mike

[Sakrison]

We attended the Scots Anglican Sunday services there in 2010. The interior is a wonder--every surface is carved stone. For you trivia fans, the crypt depicted in "Da Vinci Code" doesn't exist. The actual crypt is a simple unadorned room. What struck us as we worshiped in the chapel was that beneath our feet, in catacombs the family has kept sealed, are generations of Scottish knights. It's a delightful place, even without the movie connection.

The scaffolding was still up when we were there. We'd like to go back now that it's gone.
--David