Interior-general view of Thistle Chapel

Description Interior-general view of Thistle Chapel

Date 1911 to 1912

Collection Records of Bedford Lemere and Company, photographers, London, England

Catalogue Number BL 21476

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies B 64783, SC 717159

Scope and Content Knights' Stalls, Thistle Chapel, St Giles' Cathedral, High Street, Edinburgh, from the south-west The Thistle Chapel, the most ornate building of its kind to be erected in Scotland since the Middle Ages, was designed by the architect, Sir Robert Lorimer, and built in 1909-11 at St Giles' Cathedral as the private chapel for the Knights of the Thistle, the most ancient Order of Chivalry in Scotland. The architectural photographer, Harry Bedford Lemere, was commissioned to photograph the interior c.1912. The six knights' stalls on the north side of the chapel were richly carved in oak by the wood carvers, William & Alexander Clow. Each stall is topped by a magnificent steepled canopy supported on slim twisted columns. A sword hangs in front of the spire of each canopy, and a mantled and crested coronet is set on top. On the back of each stall is an enamelled armorial plate by the artist, Phoebe Anna Traquair. The Order of the Thistle is Scotland's great order of chivalry, and membership is one of the country's highest honours. The order is traditionally awarded to Scots who have given distinguished service to Scotland, and appointments are entirely the personal gift of the sovereign. The chapel contains stalls for 16 knights, a sovereign's stall and two royal stalls. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Medium Glass

External Reference Box 62

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