Da Vinci Code Chapel reveals record profits

The historic chapel featured in international best-seller the Da Vinci Code made record profits last year thanks to the Hollywood film of the book.

More than 170,000 visitors flocked to Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, where Dan Brown’s page-turner reaches its dramatic conclusion.

Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou starred in the movie version which hit cinemas last May.

The Rosslyn Chapel Trust said it made £600,000 (€910,000) in 2006 – a rise from £370,000 (€750,000) the previous year.

The charity said it did not expect the high volume of visitors to continue.

Colin Glynne-Percy said: “There has been an increase in visitors but we don’t see that continuing.

“We do see numbers dropping away, if not this year, then perhaps the next.”

Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair.

The plot of the Da Vinci Code suggests it was built to house the secret of the Holy Grail.

Characters Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu end up at the chapel after unravelling a string of clues sparked by a murder in Paris.

Prior to the publication of the book, the chapel received around 30,000 visitors a year.

The admission fee is £7 (€11).

The extra cash is to be spent on a £12m (€24.1m) restoration project, the trust said.