MELROSE, SCOTTISH BORDERS
The first religious house at Melrose was said to have been founded by St. Aidan c. 660. Its second prior was St. Cuthbert, the apostle of the borders, who dwelt there until he became prior of Lindesfarne in 664. The house at Melrose later became one of the resting places of his body before it was taken to the place where Durham Cathedral was founded. Although the house was destroyed in 839, by Kenneth King of Scots, there was still a church there in the twelfth century. In 1136 King David I (1124-1153), possibly under the influence of his friend St. Aelred, invited a group of monks from Rievaulx to settle at the old site at Melrose.
A few years later the monks moved to the present site, only two miles up the River Tweed from the old monastery. It was the earliest Cistercian monastery to be founded in Scotland and in turn became the mother-house of four other Scottish abbeys, as well as Holmcultram in northern England. For many of its abbots were men of distinction and honour. St. Waltheof, stepson of King David and at one time prior of Kirkham, was abbot of Melrose from 1148-1159, and in future destined to become a saint. He was a friend of St. Aelred and had previously been proposed for the see of York, but had been prevented from becoming archbishop by King Stephen of England (1135-54).
Other notable figures include Abbot Joscelin, afterwards bishop of Glasgow (1175), who took a prominent part in the construction of Glasgow Cathedral, intended as a shrine for the body of St. Mungo. Abbot Robert (1268) had formerly served as chancellor of Scotland; Abbot Andrew (1449) became Lord High Treasurer, and many others were raised to the episcopate. In 1249 King Alexander II ordered that his body be buried in the church at Melrose and in 1391 the abbacy was granted the mitre as recognition of its status. However, Melrose was positioned on one of the main roads running from Edinburgh to the south making it particularly vulnerable to attack. The monastic buildings were burnt during the campaigns of Edward I, 1300-1307, and in 1322 the abbey was sacked by the retreating army of Edward II, at which time several of the monks were slaughtered. Following this incident Robert the Bruce ordered for Melrose to be restored so that that the abbey might resume full functions.
The greatest damage was incurred during the earl of Hertford’s invasion in September 1545, and it seems Melrose never recovered from this blow. In any case the abbey had already fallen under the control of lay lords who involved the abbey in a series of disputes. The period between 1486 and 1507 was characterized by protracted litigation over the abbacy. The dispute was resolved in 1507 when William Turnbull, abbot of Melrose, was transferred to Coupar Angus and replaced by Robert Beaton, abbot of Glenluce. The first to receive the post was James Stewart, eldest son of King James V, who held the position until 1557. In 1609 the abbey was erected into a temporal lordship for John Ramsey, Viscount Haddington, who then took the title Lord of Melrose. The fifteenth-century Gothic church, built after the attack of 1385, is the central feature: its remains are unrivalled by any other church in Scotland. Much of the church still stands to roof height at the east end and the stonework is heavily influenced by both French and northern designs.It has always been believed that the heart of Robert the Bruce rests within the walls of Melrose Abbey.
NEWBATTLE was founded in 1140 by King David I (1124-1153) and his son, Prince Henry (d. 1153). The first monks arrived from King David's earlier foundation at Melrose. The church was finally dedicated on 13 March 1233/4. The proximity of the abbey to Edinburgh meant that Newbattle suffered greatly in the Scottish wars with England. The abbey was severely burned by the English during the campaign of Richard II in 1385 and was attacked during the invasion of the earl of Hertford in 1544 and again in 1548. It was said that during the latter attack six monks were carried off to England as prisoners. There were twenty-four monks and an abbot in the community in 1528 but the numbers had decreased to about fifteen by the time of the Reformation.
DUNDRENNAN Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway, was founded in 1142. Whereas most sources attribute the foundation to King David, this was possibly made in collaboration with his friend, Fergus of Galloway. It may be the case that King David asked Fergus to grant lands for the foundation of a Cistercian abbey at Dundrennan in order to bring more literate men into Scotland, and to provide administration and pastoral care. The name (Dun-nan-droigheann) means ‘fort of the thorn bushes’, for the site was on the cliffs overlooking the Solway Firth, and surrounded by heath and marsh. It is thought that the monks came from Rievaulx although there is no recorded evidence. However, St. Aelred of Rievaulx visited the abbey on more than one occasion and in 1167 the first abbot of Dundrennan, Sylvanus, was elected to succeed Aelred as abbot of Rievaulx. At least one other abbot went on to become the head of Rievaulx Abbey, in 1239. The abbey prospered in the first hundred years of its existence. Fergus looked on the abbey with favour and his family were to endow the Cistercian Order with lands and sites for two more abbeys and a nunnery. The monks of Dundrennan maintained their own ships at abbey Burnfoot and from there they engaged in trade with Europe.
In 1328 the abbey appealed to Edward III for the restoration of their estates in Ireland from which they had been expelled. Despite these troubles Dundrennan does not seem to have suffered unduly from the various wars with England. Nevertheless, by 1529, the abbey buildings had fallen into a state of ruin and in 1561 the annual income of the monastery was assessed at just £500, making Dundrennan the poorest Cistercian house in Scotland. In 1567 Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night on Scottish soil in Dundrennan Abbey, after being forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son, James VI. Following his death the commendatorship was granted to Edward Maxwell, son of John Maxwell, in 1562. For the next thirty-six years the post was held by members of the Maxwell family. The last commendator was John Murray who succeeded to the position in 1598/9. Seven years later the abbey was erected into a temporal lordship for Murray, who was made Earl of Annandale.
GLENLUCE, Dumfries and Galloway, was founded between 1191 and 1192 by Roland, lord of Galloway and constable of Scotland. Roland was the grandson of the patron of Dundrennan and it is likely that the first monks were brought from that monastery. Glenluce was never a wealthy abbey and would have accommodated no more than fifteen monks. In 1561 the annual income of the abbey was valued at £667, making Glenluce the second poorest abbey of the Cistercian Order in Scotland at that time. During the sixteenth century, the house was the victim of a series of disputes between Scottish lords who each claimed the position of commendator. In 1619 the abbey was bestowed upon the bishop of Galloway and thereafter the monastic buildings were allowed to fall into a state of ruin. The most impressive of the ruins is the chapter-house, built c. 1500; it remains almost complete and in a very good state of preservation.