THE MAGDALEN CHAPEL

We are standing opposite The Magdalen Chapel, a structure dating back to the 16th century. It often gets lost among the more modern bars, nightclubs and student hostels that make up the Cowgate. Indeed, I knew not of its existence until I started my never-ending obsession about women’s history in Edinburgh. The chapel is the area’s only tangible marker of the Cowgate’s more mercantile and less rowdy past. By the sixteenth century, many of Edinburgh’s markets had relocated to the Cowgate from the High Street and the vibrancy and busyness of the Cowgate in the sixteenth century made it the perfect spot for a building project that celebrated the wealth, piety and status of an illustrious mercantile couple – Jonet Rhynd and Michael McQueen.

In the 1530s, Michael had the topic of salvation on his mind and set forth to establish a chapel. However, his poor health and death soon after, meant that he never set the plans for his project in motion. It was instead, his widow, Jonet, a successful businesswoman in her own mind with her own trading booth in Edinburgh, who brought the project to fruition. But Jonet did not passively carry out her husband’s vision but rather set forth her own ambitions, making the project her own. She added a further £2000 Scots to the £700 Scots that Michael had invested initially. She also added to the structure by adding a hospital for the sustenance of a chaplain and seven poor men or bedesmen. The chapel was dedicated to Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St Mary Magdalen and was to serve both as a religious chapel and a guildhall for the Incorporation of Hammermen, an Edinburgh craft guild encompassing all those who worked metal with hammer. Jonet’s connections to the Hammermen’s guild is not obvious although it is probable that Jonet, who herself was from a prominent Edinburgh family, counted members of the guild among her relatives. At the very least, Jonet’s prominent social standing within Edinburgh would have made her aware of the guild’s activities and religious patronage. Jonet’s support of the guild also appears to have been in part due to her desire to occupy a house on the nearby Niddry’s Wynd, which she received (after prolonged negotiations) in exchange for the guild’s patronage of Magdalen Chapel during her widowhood.

The chapel was completed in 1553, the last Roman Catholic church to be built in Edinburgh before the Reformation. Jonet died in December of that year and was buried inside it. The building still bears the initials MM and IR - a reminder of Michael McQueen and Jonet Rhynd. The J was simply a variant of I, reflecting the Old English alphabet in which the letter j did not exist as a separate character.

Now there is also another early donor whose story I want to share. Her name was Isobel Mauchan, who gave £1,000 Scots in 1555, probably a close friend of Jonet's. A John Rynd was later censured for removing Isobel's carved coat of arms from the chapel. A woman's contribution, literally taken off the wall by a man, years after her death. We do not know why, we only know that it happened.

Inside there are also four stained roundels which are Scotland’s only intact pre-Reformation stained glass remaining in its original location.  They represent: the arms of Michael McQueen, the Royal Arms of Scotland, the arms of Mary of Guise, and the combined arms of Michael McQueen and Jonet Rhynd. (image)

Inside, you are also able to see Jonet's tombstone, which is the only marked tombstone inside the building and which is hidden under a loose carpet that can be removed (Show image of tombstone). The location of her tombstone, despite its current lack of accessibility, is significant for it was placed in the highest status position to the south of the altar. For medieval widows such as Jonet, whose lives were otherwise hidden behind or determined by those of their husbands, the location and design of funerary monuments provided an important means through which they expressed choice over how and where they wanted to be commemorated. The decision to have her tomb in such a significant position is a powerful statement of her own role in bringing the project to fruition and of how she wished to be commemorated within her local community.

The fact that it is hidden today and relies on the visitor to already be in knowledge of its whereabouts is a real shame. The tombstone also requires restoration work.

The chapel has benefited from restoration throughout its history, at one point due to funds raised by The Cockburn Association in the 1960s. This was sparked in 1957 when an image of the chapel was published in connection with plans for the adjacent site to become the location of the first general practitioner centre in Britain. The building plans for this space threatened the chapel and formed a new interest in its condition. The Cockburn Association invited the Incorporation of Hammermen, the Protestant Institute and the University to form a committee to report and survey the preservation work needed to keep this pre-Reformation chapel standing. In 1960 the Association continued to raise funds for its repair, recognising its historic value and the need to protect it. Further concerns were raised in 1990 when it publicly raised its grave concerns over the care being taken by the owners of the chapel and a major restoration programme was therefore carried out in 1992-1993.

Here, the story of Jonet Rhynd is embedded in stone and legacy. She transformed a shared vision into a lasting monument, ensuring that her contribution would endure long after her lifetime, a testament to the often unseen, yet profound, influence of women in shaping Edinburgh’s history. It is just a shame that her tombstone has been neglected and I really hope that in the near future, the funds can be raised for its necessary restoration to help bring the story of Jonet to light for I believe her story will be effective in making the site more popular to visitors, be they locals or tourists, and ensure its preservation for years to come. It is now the headquarters of the Scottish Reformation Society.