Archaeology InSites

Private prayer

Among the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh Castle on a busy day, St Margaret’s Chapel is a place where you can almost imagine the contemplative prayers made by the Scottish Royal Family in times gone by. Margaret was a member of the Anglo-Saxon Royal Family, and lived as a young girl at the court of Edward the Confessor. She fled to Scotland in 1066 after the Norman Conquest and in 1070 became the second wife of King Malcolm III. Histories record Margaret as a pious woman who is reputed to have performed many acts of charity and in 1250, some 157 years after her death, she was canonised by Pope Innocent IV and her remains were transferred to a shrine chapel at Dunfermline Abbey.

In early 2016 Kirkdale Archaeology undertook a survey of the chapel which brought to light new information about the construction of the building, and clarified the extent to which its later reuse and restoration altered the appearance of the structure. The chapel was converted for use as a gunpowder store in the 17th century while the late-medieval chapel that adjoined its east end continued as the garrison’s chapel until the late 18th century. This, in turn, was replaced by a new chapel which lasted until the late 19th century before being removed. The chapel’s fine Romanesque chancel arch, decorated with a chevron pattern and perhaps dating to the first decade of the 12th century, appears to have been inserted into an earlier building.