St Triduana's Chapel, Restalrig Collegiate Church

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free for everyone; visits are by prior arrangement with St Margaret's Parish Church (0131 554 7400). No membership card is needed.

ParkingNo car park

Arrive on foot, by bike or by public transport.

Parking details

Historic Scotland names no parking: the chapel is 'off Restalrig Road South, on the east side of Edinburgh', in the churchyard of Restalrig parish church. The small car parks around the church are private or residents' parking, so look for a space on the surrounding streets.

Driving pin: Historic Scotland's own pin at the chapel. Historic Scotland gives journey planners only; Holyrood is about a mile away.

About

In the churchyard of Restalrig, on the east side of Edinburgh, stands the lower storey of a remarkable hexagonal chapel and wellhouse of the 1400s, dedicated to St Triduana, a Pictish saint said to have been blinded and martyred in the 500s. Water from a spring here was believed to cure eye ailments, and medieval pilgrims came seeking cures. A church is recorded on the site from the 1100s. In about 1477 James III ordered St Triduana's Aisle built, and on its completion the church became the collegiate Deanery of Restalrig. Its royal links may have made it an early target of the Reformation: in December 1560 the General Assembly ordered it destroyed, and only the lower level of the aisle and some church walls survived. HES describes the chapel, now under a later pyramid roof against the parish church, as one of the most skilfully built in Scotland in its day. Visits are by prior arrangement with St Margaret's Parish Church, Restalrig, on 0131 554 7400.

Check today’s timesSee all times

St Triduana's Chapel, Restalrig Collegiate ChurchBy prior arrangement 09:00 – 17:00; call St Margaret's Parish Church on 0131 554 7400

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland: 'St Triduana's Chapel is free to visit, with access by prior arrangement during the following times: Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm; Sunday, 12.30pm to 5pm. Please call St Margaret's Parish Church on 0131 554 7400.' Arrange your visit before you go; the chapel is otherwise locked.

The chapel is attached to the south-west corner of Restalrig parish church (St Margaret's), a working Church of Scotland church that opens on Wednesdays from 12:00 to 14:00 or by arrangement, with a Sunday service at 10:30. No toilets at the chapel.

Photo: Restalrig parish church with the hexagonal St Triduana's Chapel and its pyramidal slate roof beside it, seen from the churchyard path. Euan Nelson, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Restalrig_Parish_Church_and_St._Triduana%27s_Chapel_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3333395.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.