everywhere, and the exuberant fancy of the architect, strike the
visitor who sees Rosslyn for the first time with an astonishment
which no familiarity ever effaces."[240]

The original intention was to complete the building as a cross church,
with choir, nave, and transepts, but the choir only has been completed.
The transepts have been partly erected, the east wall being carried up
to a considerable height, but the nave has not been erected. The church
consists of a choir, with north and south aisles, connected by an aisle
which runs across the east end, giving access to a series of four
chapels beyond it to the east. Beyond the east end of the church, and on
a lower level, to suit the slope of the ground, a chapel has been
erected that is reached from the south aisle by a stair. It is
barrel-vaulted and is lighted by an eastern window. There are ambries in
the walls and an eastern altar with a piscina. There are also a
fireplace and a small closet on the north side. On the south a door
leads to what has been an open court, where there are indications of
other buildings having existed or being intended. In all probability
there was a residence here, and the chapel may have served both as
sacristy and private chapel. This chapel was probably built by the
liberality of Lady Douglas, Sir William St. Clair's first wife.

The church is profusely adorned with sculpture which generally
represents Scripture scenes, and one of the most curious examples in the
remarkable decoration of the edifice is the ornamentation of the south
pillar of the east aisle, known as the "Prentice Pillar"--named by
Slezer (1693) as the "Prince's Pillar" and by Defoe (1723) the
"Princess's Pillar." It consists of a series of wreaths twisted round
the shaft, each wreath curving from base to capital round one quarter of
the pillar. The ornamentation of the wreaths corresponds in character
with the other carving of the church, and the grotesque animals on the
base find a counterpart in those of the chapter-house pillar at Glasgow
Cathedral.

At the Reformation the lands and revenue of the church were virtually
taken away, and in 1572 they were relinquished by a formal deed of
resignation. The chapel does not seem to have suffered much violence
till 1688, when a mob did much mischief. It remained uncared for, and
gradually became ruinous till the middle of the eighteenth century, when
General St. Clair glazed the windows, relaid the floor,