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St James' Chapel, North Queensferry is a medieval chapel dedicated to St James the Apostle, situated in Fife close to the Firth of Forth. The chapel stands on bedrock composed of dolerite and tholeiitic basalt from a Carboniferous to Permian-age igneous intrusion, which would have provided a firm foundation for construction and contributed distinctive dark stone to the local building landscape.
The chapel's dedication to St James reflects the medieval pilgrimage traditions of Scotland. North Queensferry's location on the Firth of Forth made it a significant point on routes to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and such chapels frequently served travellers and pilgrims passing through strategic coastal settlements.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM9806, recognising its importance as evidence of medieval religious life and the infrastructure supporting long-distance pilgrimage in medieval Scotland. The chapel remains an archaeological record of devotional practice and settlement patterns in medieval Fife.
North Queensferry, St James' Chapel is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM9806. View the official record →
St James' Chapel, North Queensferry is a medieval chapel dedicated to St James the Apostle, situated in Fife close to the Firth of Forth. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM9806.
North Queensferry, St James' Chapel dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a st james' chapel. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
North Queensferry, St James' Chapel is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM9806.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Craigie Hill,fort (5.1 km), Catstane, inscribed stone and long cist cemetery 690m E of Carlowrie (6.3 km), Cammo Canal (7.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of North Queensferry, St James' Chapel's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
North Queensferry, St James' Chapel stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Carboniferous To Permian, bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is dolerite and tholeiitic basalt.