Mortuary Chapel, Category A listed building in Edinburgh, Scotland
The Mortuary Chapel is a small room measuring about 3 by 4 meters, completely covered with murals by artist Phoebe Anna Traquair, located within Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children. The walls display religious and figurative artwork that fills the space with artistic depth.
The space was created in 1885 from a converted coalhouse and commissioned by the Edinburgh Social Union to provide a place for grieving families at the hospital. The artistic works by Traquair were later moved in 1894 along with the bricks they were painted on to the new location.
The murals blend Celtic, Byzantine, Gothic, and Baroque elements showing angels and religious scenes meant to comfort grieving families. This artistic mix creates a space that welcomes people of different faiths.
The room is very small and requires visitors to move about in close quarters to view the murals from different angles. Curtains can be drawn over the artworks to conceal religious imagery when needed for families of different faith backgrounds.
The murals are painted on the original brick courses that Traquair moved with the building in 1894, keeping the artworks on the substrates they were created on. This unusual preservation method maintains the paint media and surface texture in their original way.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
