Dryburgh Abbey

Dryburgh Abbey
Monastery information
OrderPremonstratensian
Established1150
Disestablishedbet. 1581 and 1600
Mother houseAlnwick Abbey
DioceseDiocese of St. Andrews
People
Founder(s)Hugh de Morville
Important associated figuresAdam of Dryburgh, Andrew Forman

Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland.[1] The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place on 13 December 1152.[2]

It was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly surviving until the Scottish Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland. It is now a designated scheduled monument[3] and the surrounding landscape is included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.[4]

David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds. Their respective tomb and headstone, along with other memorials, are collectively designated a Category A listed building.[5]

1804 engraving of Dryburgh Abbey by James Fittler in Scotia Depicta
  1. ^ Chron. Melrose, s.a. 1150
  2. ^ Chron. Melrose, s.a. 1152
  3. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Dryburgh Abbey (SM90103)". Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  4. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "DRYBURGH ABBEY (GDL00145)". Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  5. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Tomb of Sir Walter Scott, King James obelisk, headstone of Field Marshall Earl Haig and memorials in burial ground to the north of Dryburgh Abbey and excluding scheduled monument SM90103, Dryburgh (Category A Listed Building) (LB15114)". Retrieved 27 February 2019.