Press release -
Rosslyn Chapel named five-star c-attraction
William the Chapel Cat – a familiar face to thousands of visitors to Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian – has accepted a five-star VisitScotland award on behalf of the world-famous c-attraction.
The historic Midlothian chapel, which featured in the bestselling book and blockbuster film version of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, has become only the fifth recipient of a five-star Historic Attraction award from VisitScotland – meaning it has attained the highest standards of facilities and customer care.
Ian Gardner, Director of Rosslyn Chapel Trust, accepted the award today (Thursday 9 October) with the help of colleagues…and William, who can often be found sleeping on one of the Chapel pews. His likeness now adorns a range of popular items, including a cuddly toy, in the gift shop.
The five-star award represents a fitting conclusion to the 15th-Century Chapel’s long journey towards becoming one of the country’s top visitor attractions.
Conservation work to the Chapel, which is Category A-listed, was instigated after damage to the stonework because of dampness. As part of a £9 million project, the building has been made watertight, the stained glass windows have been conserved and a new visitor centre has opened.
Funding for the project came from Rosslyn Chapel Trust, a recognised Scottish charity, and a variety of supporters and funders including the National Lottery, through the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland and WREN Heritage.
The last pieces of scaffolding were removed in September 2013. The Chapel is a hugely popular attraction – attracting nearly 145,000 people last year – and also remains a working church, within the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Edinburgh.
Ian Gardner, Director of Rosslyn Chapel Trust, said: “This is fantastic recognition for the many years of hard work that have gone into making Rosslyn Chapel an amazing place to visit. Since the completion of the major conservation project, the whole team here has been able to focus on improving the experience for visitors and today’s award is the result of everyone’s work.”
Riddell Graham, Director of Partnerships at VisitScotland, who presented the award, said: “I would like to congratulate the team at Rosslyn Chapel on this very well deserved award. The VisitScotland Quality Assurance Scheme provides tourism businesses with an independent and objective mark of quality, and helps to set visitor expectations at the right level, while at the same time giving owners of hotels, B&Bs and visitor attractions useful advice on best practice. The VisitScotland Quality Assurance Scheme is not just about the plaque, it’s about everything that goes behind it. We strongly encourage all tourism businesses to join the scheme, something that benefits tourism businesses and visitors alike.”
VisitScotland’s world-leading Quality Assurance Scheme currently boasts over 7,000 participants and has been used as an example of best practice with countries all over the world, including Sweden and Namibia.
Scotland’s nine five-star Historic Attractions:
Arbroath Abbey
Stanley Mills (Perth)
Iona Abbey and Nunnery
Rosslyn Chapel (Roslin)
Skara Brae (Sandwick)
The Real Mary King’s Close (Edinburgh)
Melrose Abbey
Jedburgh Abbey
Dryburgh Abbey (St Boswells)
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