Everything about Kelso Abbey totally explained
Kelso Abbey is a
Scottish abbey built in the
12th century by a community of
Tironensian monks (originally from
Tiron, near
Chartres, in
France) who had moved from the nearby
Selkirk Abbey. The monks constructed the Abbey on land granted to them by
King David I. The construction commenced in
1128, and when completed fifteen years later, in
1143, it was dedicated to
The Blessed Virgin and
Saint John.
Kelso Abbey soon grew to be one of the wealthiest and grandest in
Scotland, with much of its income coming from its vast estates in the
Border country. It was also the seat of the
Feudal Lordship of
Holydean. The importance of the Abbey at that time was shown when
King James III of Scotland was crowned at the Abbey in
1460. However, the Abbey's proximity to the border with
England led to it suffering damage from cross-border raids. It was first damaged in the
Anglo-Scottish wars at the start of the
1300s, but was later repaired by the monks.
The Abbey suffered serious damage during the
Earl of Hertford's "
Rough Wooing" campaign (the dispute over
Mary Queen of Scots) against Scotland between
1544 and
1547, which caused considerable destruction to many of southern Scotland's abbeys, including those at
Melrose,
Dryburgh and
Jedburgh. The
Reformation, which took place in Scotland in
1560, meant that Kelso Abbey had no chance to recover and rebuild. After further attacks and damage the Abbey was declared officially derelict in
1587.
After the end of the Reformation, the Abbey was partly used as a
parish church between
1647 and
1771, with other parts of the structure being dismantled and used as a source of stone by locals for buildings in the town of
Kelso. In
1805, huge parts of the
ruins were cleared away, leaving just the west tower and its
transept remaining to this day. A more recent addition (
1933) has been a memorial cloister to the
8th Duke of Roxburghe built in the original style of the cloisters when the Abbey was first built.
The ruins are cared for by
Historic Scotland. No entrance charge.
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