Home / Highlights / The Apprentice Pillar

The Apprentice Pillar

One of the Chapel's most famous features, The Apprentice Pillar stands eight feet in height and, with carvings of vines swirling around it and dragons at the base, is said to be the work of the Master Mason's Apprentice.

Type:

Pillar

Location:

In Chapel

The Tale of the Apprentice Pillar

The tale of The Apprentice Pillar has been told since at least the mid-17th century. The story relates that Sir William St Clair’s Master mason decided to travel abroad for inspiration before carving this final pillar in the Chapel.

While he was away, his apprentice had a dream in which he saw a beautiful pillar and he was allowed to carve it.

When the Master Mason returned home, he was so jealous that he struck his apprentice on the head with a mallet and killed him on the spot.

He was punished with death for his crime and their fellow masons carved the heads of both master and apprentice into the Chapel, as a reminder of the consequences of jealousy.

There be dragons

In a reference to the St Clair family’s Norse heritage, there are eight dragons at the base of the pillar.

These may also represent the eight dragons of Neifelheim, which in Norse mythology guiard the great ash tree Yggdrasil, which binds together heaven, earth and hell.