Rosslyn Chapel Old Stables, Midlothian

Rosslyn Chapel has probably attracted visitors since it was founded in 1446. In the eighteenth century it drew poets and painters such as the Wordsworths, Robert Burns and Alexander Nasmith, and in the nineteenth century Sir Walter Scott and Queen Victoria.

The complete repair and conversion of the Old Stables into a 'visitor centre' is part of a long-term strategy for the restoration of the Chapel and for its improvement for worshippers and visitors. While the chapel itself is being dried out under an elegantly engineered temporary roof, amongst much technical debate, the stable building has been completely overhauled and equipped with a new reception desk, shop, tea-room and toilets on the ground floor, and an office and exhibition room above.

While the exterior looks almost unchanged, the interior has been

transformed. Every attempt has been made to keep the materials and detailing simple and appropriate in the context of

a building which seems to have been built, largely of re-used

medieval stones, to accommodate a horse and trap.