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Thistle Chapel
The Thistle Chapel, located in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, is the chapel of the Order of the Thistle.
At the foundation of the Order of the Thistle in 1687, King James VII ordered Holyrood Abbey be fitted out as a chapel for the Knights. At James's deposition the following year, a mob destroyed the chapel's interior before the Knights ever met there. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, multiple proposals were made either to refurbish Holyrood Abbey for the Order of the Thistle or to create a chapel within St Giles' Cathedral. In 1906, after the sons of the 11th Earl of Leven donated £24,000 from their late father's estate, King Edward VII ordered a new Chapel to be constructed on the south side of St Giles's.
The Trustees appointed by the King to oversee the chapel's construction appointed Robert Lorimer as architect. The Trustees insisted the choice of craftspeople should reflect the national character of the chapel. Lorimer assembled a team of leading figures in the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement, including Phoebe Anna Traquair for enamelwork, Douglas Strachan for stained glass, Joseph Hayes for ornate stonework (and much of the woodwork), and the brothers William and Alexander Clow for other woodwork. Louis Davis – who supplied stained glass – and the Bromsgrove Guild – who supplied bronze fittings – were the only major contributors based outside Scotland. Construction began in November 1909 and the chapel was completed a little over a year later. After its official opening in July 1911, King George V knighted Lorimer for his work. Through the continuing addition of stall plates, crests, and banners for new Knights, the chapel's tradition of craftsmanship persists to the present day. The Knights of the Thistle meet in the Chapel at least once a year.
Architectural critics have noted Lorimer's successful use of a limited site to create a soaring work of Gothic architecture, rich with architectural details. A number of critics have emphasised the chapel's importance as a product of the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the collaborative craftsmanship of individual artisans defines the overall effect. Some critics have also emphasised the chapel's political role as an expression of Scottish patriotism, British imperialism, and monarchism.
On 29 May 1687, James VII founded the Order of the Thistle and issued a warrant to designate Holyrood Abbey the chapel of the new order. This change of purpose necessitated the eventual removal of the Abbey's Church of Scotland congregation to the Canongate Kirk.
In the seventeen months after the publication of the warrant, William Bruce oversaw the transformation of the Abbey: an altar and black and white marble floor were added and classical stalls were shipped from London. The Order of the Thistle never met in its new chapel: on 10 December 1688, in the wake of James' deposition, a mob from Edinburgh destroyed the furnishings.
Although the order was revived in 1703 by Queen Anne, no chapel was designated. In 1728, the antiquarian William Douglas suggested the ruins of St Rule's Church in the grounds of St Andrews Cathedral be restored as a chapel for the order. Proposals to locate the chapel of the Order in St Giles' go back to 1872, when Secretary of the Order corresponded with the committee for the then-ongoing restoration of the church. In 1879 and 1882, Lindsay Mackersy, session clerk of the High Kirk, and the kirk session proposed the south transept of St Giles' as a chapel for the Order. None of these proposals proved practical.
In 1836, James Gillespie Graham and Augustus Pugin had drawn up plans to restore Holyrood Abbey as the chapel of the Order. Although Graham and Pugin's plans were not acted upon at the time, the same ambition was advanced in 1905, when Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven set up a fund of £40,000 to restore Holyrood Abbey for the Order of the Thistle. On investigation by Thomas Ross, the restoration of Holyrood Abbey was found to be impossible.
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Thistle Chapel
The Thistle Chapel, located in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, is the chapel of the Order of the Thistle.
At the foundation of the Order of the Thistle in 1687, King James VII ordered Holyrood Abbey be fitted out as a chapel for the Knights. At James's deposition the following year, a mob destroyed the chapel's interior before the Knights ever met there. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, multiple proposals were made either to refurbish Holyrood Abbey for the Order of the Thistle or to create a chapel within St Giles' Cathedral. In 1906, after the sons of the 11th Earl of Leven donated £24,000 from their late father's estate, King Edward VII ordered a new Chapel to be constructed on the south side of St Giles's.
The Trustees appointed by the King to oversee the chapel's construction appointed Robert Lorimer as architect. The Trustees insisted the choice of craftspeople should reflect the national character of the chapel. Lorimer assembled a team of leading figures in the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement, including Phoebe Anna Traquair for enamelwork, Douglas Strachan for stained glass, Joseph Hayes for ornate stonework (and much of the woodwork), and the brothers William and Alexander Clow for other woodwork. Louis Davis – who supplied stained glass – and the Bromsgrove Guild – who supplied bronze fittings – were the only major contributors based outside Scotland. Construction began in November 1909 and the chapel was completed a little over a year later. After its official opening in July 1911, King George V knighted Lorimer for his work. Through the continuing addition of stall plates, crests, and banners for new Knights, the chapel's tradition of craftsmanship persists to the present day. The Knights of the Thistle meet in the Chapel at least once a year.
Architectural critics have noted Lorimer's successful use of a limited site to create a soaring work of Gothic architecture, rich with architectural details. A number of critics have emphasised the chapel's importance as a product of the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the collaborative craftsmanship of individual artisans defines the overall effect. Some critics have also emphasised the chapel's political role as an expression of Scottish patriotism, British imperialism, and monarchism.
On 29 May 1687, James VII founded the Order of the Thistle and issued a warrant to designate Holyrood Abbey the chapel of the new order. This change of purpose necessitated the eventual removal of the Abbey's Church of Scotland congregation to the Canongate Kirk.
In the seventeen months after the publication of the warrant, William Bruce oversaw the transformation of the Abbey: an altar and black and white marble floor were added and classical stalls were shipped from London. The Order of the Thistle never met in its new chapel: on 10 December 1688, in the wake of James' deposition, a mob from Edinburgh destroyed the furnishings.
Although the order was revived in 1703 by Queen Anne, no chapel was designated. In 1728, the antiquarian William Douglas suggested the ruins of St Rule's Church in the grounds of St Andrews Cathedral be restored as a chapel for the order. Proposals to locate the chapel of the Order in St Giles' go back to 1872, when Secretary of the Order corresponded with the committee for the then-ongoing restoration of the church. In 1879 and 1882, Lindsay Mackersy, session clerk of the High Kirk, and the kirk session proposed the south transept of St Giles' as a chapel for the Order. None of these proposals proved practical.
In 1836, James Gillespie Graham and Augustus Pugin had drawn up plans to restore Holyrood Abbey as the chapel of the Order. Although Graham and Pugin's plans were not acted upon at the time, the same ambition was advanced in 1905, when Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven set up a fund of £40,000 to restore Holyrood Abbey for the Order of the Thistle. On investigation by Thomas Ross, the restoration of Holyrood Abbey was found to be impossible.