Melrose Abbey
View of Melrose Abbey from the southeast. Photo © Paradoxplace.com.
The great east window of Melrose Abbey. Photo © Paradoxplace.com.
Melrose Abbey by night. Photo © Mike Reed.
The graceful Gothic ruins of Melrose Abbey. Photo by Derek.
Photo by Gary Denham.
Photo by Biepmiep.
Interactive satellite map of Melrose Abbey. For a larger view,
see our Scotland Map or Google Earth download.
Melrose Abbey is a Cistercian abbey now in picturesque ruins in the Borders region of Scotland.
History
Tradition has it that an abbey was founded at Melrose around the end of the 6th century, and that the famous St. Cuthbert was one of the abbots in 643 before he left for Lindisfarne.
Ethelwold succeeded St. Cuthbert, and sometime later the monastery was ruined by the Danes. The place where this abbey is supposed to have stood is called Old Melrose, and is a mile and a half from the present abbey.
The present Melrose Abbey was founded by king David of Scotland in 1136, and is supposed to have been built in ten years. The church of the convent was dedicated to St. Mary on the 28th of July, 1146. It was the mother church of the Cistertian order in Scotland. The white-robed monks were brought from Rievaulx Abbey, in Yorkshire, and they soon superseded the order of the Benedictines.
The exterior of Melrose Abbey has 50 windows, 4 doors, 54 niches, and more than 50 buttresses. The abbey was damaged by the English in 1322 and 1384. Richard II made it a grant in 1389, as some compensation for the injuries it had sustained in the retreat of his army.
Twenty years before the Reformation, there were 120 monks at Melrose Abbey. The privileges and possessions of the abbey were extensive. Melrose Abbey was endowed by its founder, David of Scotland, with the lands of Melrose, Eildon, and others, right of fishery on the Tweed, and succeeding monarchs increased its property.
In 1544, King Henry VIII had Melrose Abbey torched, and it never recovered. Sixty of the monks, it is said, renounced Catholicism at the Reformation. The last abbot was James Stuart, natural son of James V., who died in 1559. By 1560, the abbey had ceased to function. The abbey's holdings were given up in 1561. Its carvings were destroyed by a Protestant mob following the deposition of Mary, Queen of Scots. Finally, as has happened with many priceless works of antiquity, much of the abbey was carted off by locals needing building material.
What to See
The best view of Melrose Abbey's exterior is from the southeast side. The Gothic abbey is built in the form of St. John's cross, with a considerable part of its principal tower now in ruins.
There are many very superb windows; the principal one at the east end (the top nave of the cross) appears to have been more recently built than the others. The beauty of the carved work, with which the abbey is profusely decorated, is seldom equaled, and has been deservedly celebrated by poets over the years.
Alexander II and many of the Scottish kings and nobles are also buried at Melrose. Robert the Bruce's heart is believed to be enshrined in the abbey. A plaque marks its location.
A stone coffin, supposed to be that of the famous Michael Scott, the wizard, was found in the small aisle on the south of the chancel in 1812. It was authenticated that his remains had been laid here. There was an altar erected to say mass for his soul. The length of the skeleton was six feet, and a stone head at the foot of the coffin bears a very rude wizard-like appearance. Scott is said to have predicted his own death, which would be by a small stone falling on his head.
The village of Melrose contains about 1000 inhabitants, and is 35 miles from Edinburgh. The remains of several Roman camps are to be seen in its neighborhood, and one of the hills bears the marks of having been a volcano. Sir Walter Scott's residence at Abbotsford is within a few miles.
Quick Facts
| Names: | Melrose Abbey |
| Type of site: | Christian monastery |
| Dates: | 1136 |
| Faith: | Roman Catholic (Cistercian Order) |
| Status: | Ruin |
| Size: | 258 feet long; 137.5 feet wide; tower height: 84 feet; east window: 57 feet high, 28 feet wide |
| Address: | Abbey St., Melrose, Scotland |
| Phone: | 01896/822-562 |
| Website: | http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/?propertyID=PL_210 |
| Hours: | Apr-Sept daily 9:30am-6:30pm; Oct-Mar Mon-Sat 9:30am-4:30pm, Sun 2-4:30pm Closed 25th, 26th December and 1st, 2nd January. |
| Cost: | Adult £4.00 Child £1.60 Senior/Discount £3.00 (if you plan to visit several Historic Scotland properties, you might want to buy an Explorer Pass) |
More Information
- Melrose Abbey Official Site - Historic Scotland – you can buy an admission ticket online here
- Melrose Abbey – Undiscovered Scotland – includes many good photos
- Melrose Abbey – Frommer's Attraction Review
- Abbey of Melrose – Catholic Encyclopedia
- Melrose Abbey Factsheet – BBC History Trails: Impact of the Monk
