In their tour of 1838 the Ruskins extended their normal route into Scotland to explore the land of Sir Walter Scott. The date on this drawing conflicts with the sequence of John James Ruskin’s itinerary, and is the only evidence that the family returned to Edinburgh: Rosslyn lies a few miles to the south. This and the study of Melrose Abbey are exceptionally larger than any other of Ruskin’s 1838 or 1837 drawings.
Inscribed in pencil: ROSLIN CHAPEL Aug 3 38 and in brown ink: by J. Ruskin (given to A.D.O. Wedderburn)