Take a quiet moment in St Margaret’s Chapel, built by David I around 1130 and the oldest building in Edinburgh.

Detail shot of stained glass in St Margaret's Chapel © Historic Scotland

Key facts

Interior of St Margaret's Chapel © Historic Scotland
Margaret was born around 1045, into the royal family of England. After the Norman invasion of 1066, she fled to the court of Malcolm III of Scotland. They soon fell in love and were married at Dunfermline.

- Malcolm was a warrior who relished fighting the Norman conquerors of England; while Margaret was deeply religious.

- Disaster struck in 1093, when Malcolm and his eldest son, Edward, were killed in an ambush. On hearing the news, Margaret took to her bed in Edinburgh Castle and died from a broken heart.

- The chapel was built by her youngest son, King David I. It has not always been used for worship.  From the 16th to the 18th century it was a gunpowder store.

- In 1250, Margaret was canonised as St Margaret of Scotland, for her many acts of piety and charity in her adopted country.