Around Edinburgh

Roslin

[Rosslyn or Roslyn on old maps and pictures]

About seven miles to the south of the centre of Edinburgh

 

Engraving in 'Modern Athens' - hand-coloured - Roslyn Castle ©    Engraving from "Modern Athens" - Published 1829 - Ruins of Roslyn Castle ©

ENGRAVINGS FROM 'MODERN ATHENS'
PUBLISHED 1829

Rosslyn Castle

J S & S, Edinburgh - " St Giles" series postcards - Rosslyn Chapel ©

POST CARD

Rosslyn Chapel

B & R Postcard - Rosslyn Chapel, with piper and Cameron tartan ©

POST CARD

Rosslyn Chapel  -  interior

B & R Postcard - John Knox and associated buildings ©

POST CARD

John Knox and Rosslyn Chapel

Carte de visite of Roslyn Abbey by John Moffat - 1876 ©

The back of a carte de visite of Roslyn Abbey by John Moffat - 1876 ©

CARTE DE VISITE BY JOHN MOFFAT

Roslyn Abbey

 

More photos

Roslin Glen

Roslin Glen - Vlley of the North Esk River - about seven miles south of the centre of Edinburgh November 2005 ©

 

Rosslyn

History

Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel, with its many religious and other carvings, stands on the edge of the Esk Valley, above Rosslyn Glen, about seven miles to the south-east of Edinburgh. 

It was built in 1446 by William St Clair, third and last Prince of Orkney and has been a place of pilgrimage over the centuries.

[The Rosslyn Association]

Around Rosslyn

Also in the area is:

-  Rosslyn Castle, visited by Robert Burns, 13 June 1786

Update

This BBC 'History of the World' web page refers to the visit by Burns on 13 June 1786, accompanied by the Alexander Nasmyth who made a small pencil sketch of Burns at the castle. 

Alexander's son, the artist James Nasmyth made a painting of the occasion from this sketch.

However, this  National Galleries Scotland web site page casts some doubt on the actual date of Burns' visit to the castle.

-  Hawthornden, visited by Queen Victoria Prince Albert, 14 Sept 1842.

[Rosslyn Exhibition at National Galleries of Scotland, ended July 02]

 

Rosslyn Chapel

Painters and Photographers

Dioramas

Louis-Jacques-Mandré Daguerre, before announcing his discovery of the Daguerreotype photographic process, in Paris in 1839, produced dioramas.  These were huge pictures, painted on transparent linen, which gave a spectacular effect when lit by combinations of light from in front and behind. 

One of his subjects, exhibited in Paris in 1824,  was Rosslyn Chapel.  The diorama (22 meters x 14 meters) has not survived, but an oil painting of the chapel by Daguerre (approx 1 sq. metre) still exists, and was exhibited at The National Galleries of Scotland in July 2002.

The chapel, both the exterior, and the interior with its elaborately carved Apprentice Pillar has been a popular subject for photographers an artists.  Here are a few.

Photographs

The chapel was photographed by:

-  Hill & Adamson, 1802-70, 1821-48, calotypists 1843-47

-  Roger Fenton 1819-1869, photographs 1856

-  George Washington Wilson 1823-1893, photographs c.1880

-  William Donaldson Clark 1816-1873, photographs c.1880

Paintings

Rosslyn Chapel was painted by:

-  David Roberts 1796-1864, watercolours 1820s-1840s and oil 1843

-  John Clerk of Eldin 1728-1812 drawings or paintings for engravings

-  Samuel Dukinfield Swarbreck, drawings or paintings for engravings

-  Hugh 'Grecian' Williams 1773-1829, painting 1795

-  John Thomson of Duddingston 1778-1840, amateur painter

-  Julius Caesar Ibbertson, paintings c.1800

-  Alexander Nasmyth 1758-1840 oil paintings, 1780s- 1800

-  James Nasmyth Son of Alexander oil paintings.

[Rosslyn Exhibition at National Galleries of Scotland, ended July 02]
 

 

 

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