Roslin (formerly spelt Rosslyn or Roslyn) is a village in

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

, Scotland, 11 kilometres (7 mi) to the south of the capital city

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. It stands on high ground, near the northwest bank of the river North Esk.

The name

The name Roslin (recorded in 1138 as ''Roskelyn'') appears to derive from

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

. The second element is clearly ''linne'' usually meaning a pond or a lake, but here probably means a waterfall and refers to the nearby Linn of Roslin. The first element is more obscure, but may derive from ''riasg'' meaning a peat moor. The theory that it is a corruption of '' Rose line'', a supposed medieval meridian passing through

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and Rosslyn Chapel, is fanciful. Roslin is believed to be the source of the name for the Village of Roslyn, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

State of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

; its location reminded officials of the hills in Roslin. Roslindale, Massachusetts is also named after Roslin.

History

Legend has it the village was founded in 203 A.D. by Asterius, a

Pict PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics (both bitmapped and vector), and some limited text support, between Mac applications, an ...

. In 1303 Roslin was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

of the

First War of Scottish Independence The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland (1296), English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until ...

. In 1446, Rosslyn Chapel was constructed, under the guide of William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness. Roslin became important as the seat of the St Clair (or Sinclair) family. In 1456 King James II granted it the status of a

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

. Coal mining has been a major occupation from the twelfth to the late twentieth centuries. Roslin Inn dates from 1660 and was visited by Dr Johnson and

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

during their tour of Scotland in 1773, dining and drinking tea at the inn. Later in the 18th century

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

breakfasted at the inn with

Alexander Nasmyth Alexander Nasmyth (9 September 175810 April 1840) was a Scottish portrait and Landscape art, landscape Painting, painter, a pupil of Allan Ramsay (artist), Allan Ramsay. He also undertook several architectural commissions. Biography Nasmyth ...

. From the 19th century onward, the attractions of the Glen, Castle and Chapel developed Roslin as a popular tourist destination. Notable visitors included J. M. W. Turner,

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

(who wrote a poem in the chapel whilst escaping a storm) and his sister Dorothy, who wrote "I never passed through a more delicious dell than the glen of Rosslyn".

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

visited in March 1887, noting in his Socialist Diary that Roslin was "a beautiful glen-ny landscape much spoiled... by the misery of Scotch building and a manufactory or two". On the north-western side of the village used to be

Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creating ...

, a biological research establishment, where in 1996 Dolly the sheep became the first animal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. She moved to Easter Bush in 2011.

Places of interest

The village sits on the west side of Roslin Glen, now a country park. Overlooking the Glen are Rosslyn Chapel and

Roslin Castle Roslin Castle (sometimes spelt Rosslyn) is a partially ruined castle near the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Roslin in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located around south of Edinburgh, on the north bank of the River Esk, Lothian, North Esk, only a ...

. The elaborately carved chapel has long been associated with the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

and the Grail legend, and featured in the best-selling book ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...

''. The popularity of the book and the use of the chapel as a location in the subsequent film greatly increased the number of visitors to the village. Rosslyn Castle, owned by the family of the Earl of Rosslyn since the 14th century, is in partial ruins. The habitable parts are let as holiday accommodation. A monument cairn erected by the Roslin Heritage Society at the end of last century, marks the site of the Battle of Roslin.

Notable residents

* James Gillespie (1726–1797), snuff-maker and philanthropist. * David Gray, scored the winning goal in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final for Hibernian, their first win since 1902. * John Lawson Johnston the inventor of

Bovril Bovril is a thick and salty meat extract paste, similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar and as cubes and granules. Its appearance is similar to the British Marmite and ...

, was born in Roslin in 1839.

References

External links