Abbeys & Engineered Things
Day 18: Visiting the Lowlands
Today marked the last day with the car, in order to make the most of it, we left at the crack of dawn planning to make it to Rosslyn Chapel just as it opened. Having visited the chapel on my last trip to Scotland (2010), I could almost prepare for the elaborate carvings. Mom had no such defense. Fortunately we were able to join the first guided tour of the day, eventually ending with viewing the Rose Line (from the Da Vinci Code). We continued by visiting three abbeys before returning north. After some cajoling we were able to get into Linlithgow Palace (even though they were closing). and ended by seeing the engineering marvel of the Falkirk Wheel. I may have taken more than 800 photos in an attempt to create a video of the wheel in motion.
Rosslyn Chapel
‘It came into his mind to build a house for God’s service, of most curious work, the which that it might be done with greater glory and splendour, he caused artificers to be brought from other regions and foreign kingdoms and caused daily to be abundance of all kinds of workmen present as masons, carpenters, smiths, barrowmen and quarriers…..’
Father Hay, author of A Genealogie of the Saintclaires of Rosslyn, describes the start of Sir William St Clair’s plan.
Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 as a place of worship and services continue to be held here weekly. The Chapel has also been a popular destination for visitors for generations. By the late 18th-century, it was starting to appear on itineraries and its profile greatly increased after the publication of Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, in 2003, and the subsequent film. Rosslyn Chapel Trust was established in 1995 to care for the Chapel and oversee its conservation and public access.
Jedburgh Abbey
Jedburgh had been an important religious site for 300 years when the Augustinians arrived in 1138. No buildings survive from this earlier period, but many artefacts and archaeological finds give an insight into life before the abbey. The visitor centre displays some exceptional carved stone fragments such as crosses and a sarcophagus. These date from the 700s to 1000s and are similar in style to Northumbrian work from the time. Another highlight is the ‘Jedburgh comb’, an intricately carved ivory comb dating to around 1100.
Jedburgh is one of the four great abbeys established in the Scottish Borders in the 1100s. David I founded a priory here in 1138 and raised it to abbey status in 1154. The brethren may have come here from St Quentin Abbey, near Beauvais, France. Augustinians were priests who for the most part lived a secluded and contemplative life, but also went forth to minister to the people. Monastic life was largely routine. But the abbey’s border location meant it was caught up in the conflict between Scotland and England in the later Middle Ages. The canons had to evacuate the premises during the Wars of Independence in the 1300s.
The demise of Jedburgh’s monastic life was sealed by:
further attacks in the 1400s
major raids in the 1500s
the Protestant Reformation of 1560
The Augustinians contributed to royal governance, and their houses could sometimes be found near to royal power centres:
Holyrood Abbey is near to Edinburgh Castle
Cambuskenneth Abbey is below Stirling Castle
Jedburgh Abbey served the royal castle in Jedburgh. In 1285, Alexander III and his new queen, Yolande de Dreux, were married in the splendid abbey church. Legend says that a ghostly figure appeared before the congregation and foretold the king’s death. Alexander died the following year, after falling from his horse.
David I wanted his new abbey to show his power and authority over the border region – a ‘debatable land’. The abbey still impresses today, almost 900 years later, despite war and weather. The cloister is mostly reduced to stone foundations, but the great abbey church of St Mary the Virgin stands almost complete. It took more than 70 years to largely complete the building – during which time its status changed from priory to abbey. Architectural fashions changed too – from Romanesque to Gothic.
Building began from the east end, the most sacred part of any church. Its Romanesque features include chunky cylindrical pillars and round-arched windows. In contrast, the nave, begun about 1180, has more delicate Gothic architecture, with its graceful sweep of pointed-arch arcades and magnificent west front. The abbey church was largely complete by about 1200, but war damage and other misfortunes led to some additions and rebuilding work. The west gable’s great rose window, dating from about 1440, is the most impressive aspect of this later work.
Set so close to the border, and with its royal castle and wealthy abbey, Jedburgh was a tempting target. It was frequently fought over during the Wars of Independence (1296–1356) and again in the 1400s and 1500s. Edward I stripped lead from the abbey roof in 1305. More destruction followed from the 1520s to 1540s, when English and Franco-Scottish armies fought for control of town and abbey. Evidence of the damage can still be seen. Traces of lowered rooflines and inserted partition walls show where areas of the abbey deemed derelict were separated from those areas still fit for use. On the eve of the Protestant Reformation of 1560, the abbey housed an embattled and entrenched community.
Dryburgh Abbey
The graceful ruins of Dryburgh Abbey nestle secluded in woodland by the River Tweed. Even now, it’s easy for visitors to get a sense of the contemplative life of a medieval monk. The abbey was established by Premonstratensian canons in 1150. Hugh de Moreville, Constable of Scotland and Lord of Lauderdale, had invited them to this idyllic spot from Alnwick Priory, Northumberland. (Moreville was himself an incomer from England.) Dryburgh became the premier house in Scotland of the French order, which was established by St Norbert of Xanten in 1121 at Prémontré. Its six Scottish houses also included Whithorn Priory. Dryburgh was never as wealthy or influential as the abbeys at Kelso, Jedburgh and Melrose, and monastic life was on the whole pretty quiet. The abbey did suffer four savage attacks, however – the most famous in 1322. Edward II’s soldiers turned back to set fire to Dryburgh having heard its bells ringing out as the English army retreated. The Protestant Reformation of 1560 effectively ended monastic life at Dryburgh Abbey. By 1584, just two brethren remained alive.
Dryburgh exudes peace and tranquillity. Both the spiritual and domestic homes of the brethren remain largely complete. The church is a fine relic of Gothic architecture, particularly the warm-pink sandstone transepts flanking the presbytery. The cloister retains its feeling of privileged enclosure. Its highlight is the 13th-century chapter house – both its painted wall plaster and wonderful acoustics survive. Other features are the warming house and dormitory in the east range.
In the 1700s, the ivy-clad ruin attracted the attention of David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan and chief founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Buchan bought Dryburgh House and set about creating a charming landscape in which the ancient abbey figured prominently. When he died in 1829, he was laid to rest in its sacristy. Sir Walter Scott, antiquarian and novelist, and Buchan’s close friend, was buried here three years later, on 26 September 1832. His tomb is in the north transept (which he called ‘St Mary’s Aisle’). A third great Scot, Field-Marshal Earl Haig, was interred beside Scott in 1928.
Melrose Abbey
David I founded Melrose Abbey, the first Cistercian monastery in Scotland, in 1136. It was one of a number of abbeys that he set up in the Borders to show both his piety and his power over this contested territory. The Cistercians were drawn to this fertile spot beside the River Tweed by its close associations with St Aidan and St Cuthbert. The monks came from Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire, the Cistercians’ great northern English missionary base. Monastic life continued at Melrose for the next 450 years. The last monk, John Watson, died around 1590. The crumbling abbey church was used as a parish church until a new kirk was built nearby in 1810.
The great abbey church of St Mary the Virgin at Melrose loomed large in the lives of many people on both sides of the border. Powerful people endowed the abbey richly and it was a highly desirable final resting place. Alexander II (died 1249) was among the privileged people to be buried here. The heart of Robert the Bruce (died 1329) was also buried at Melrose, although his body was interred at Dunfermline Abbey. Melrose’s location put it on the front line of conflict with England during the later Middle Ages:
Attacks by Edward I (1300 and 1307) and Edward II (1322) required major repairs
Richard II’s attack in 1385 led to a complete rebuilding of the abbey church
the War of the Rough Wooing in the 1540s caused further damage
Only a very small part of the first abbey church survives. The present building of rose-coloured stone dates almost entirely to the post-1385 rebuilding. Yet Melrose is still considered one of the most magnificent examples of medieval church architecture anywhere in the British Isles. Still remarkably intact are:
the presbytery at the east end, where the high altar once stood
the monks’ choir and transepts
part of the nave
Highlights of the interior include the ornate stone vaulting over the presbytery, the elegant piers and the window tracery (carved stone separating the glass). The exterior is decorated with some of the most fascinating sculpture found on any medieval church building. It depicts:
demons and hobgoblins
lute-playing angels
cooks with ladles
the famous bagpipe-playing pig
Little remains standing of the two great cloisters that lay to the north and west of the abbey church, but their ground plans are largely complete. These provide a glimpse of monastic life.
Linlithgow Palace
Once a majestic royal residence of the Stewarts, Linlithgow Palace today lies roofless and ruined. Yet entering the palace gates still inspires awe in visitors. James I ordered work on a palace to begin in 1424, following a fire that severely damaged the earlier residence. The elegant, new ‘pleasure palace’ became a welcome rest stop for royals on the busy road between Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle. The Stewart queens especially liked the peace and fresh air, and Linlithgow Palace served as the royal nursery for:
James V – born 1512
Mary Queen of Scots – born 1542
Princess Elizabeth – born 1596
But the palace fell quickly into decline when James VI moved the royal court to London in 1603, following his coronation as James I of England. The palace’s north quarter, which probably housed the queen’s apartment where Mary was born, fell to the ground in 1607. It was rebuilt around 1620, on the orders of James VI. The end came in 1746, when a great fire swept through the palace.
Linlithgow Palace stands on a low hill above a small inland loch. The name Linlithgow means ‘the loch in the damp hollow’. The site was first occupied as far back as Roman times 2,000 years ago. There has been a royal residence here since at least the reign of David I (1124–53). He also founded the town that grew up around the royal residence. Peace in Linlithgow was shattered in 1296, when Edward I of England invaded Scotland. The ‘Hammer of the Scots’ had a formidable defence built around the royal residence in 1302. He called it his ‘pele’ (from the Old French ‘pel’, meaning ‘stake’). No visible features of the original Linlithgow Peel survive. The name is now used for the attractive parkland that surrounds the remains of the later Stewart palace.
James I had begun work on the new palace shortly after his return from captivity in England. Over the course of the next century and more, his heirs completed the great task. Palace highlights include the:
Great Hall built for James I
royal apartments added by James IV (1488–1513)
three-tiered courtyard fountain added by James V in 1538
north quarter rebuilt for James VI (1567–1625)
The end result was a hugely impressive quadrangular palace, its four ranges grouped around a central courtyard.
The Cross Well
Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is the world’s only rotating boatlift, which is used to connect the Forth & Clyde and Union canals in central Scotland.
The Falkirk Wheel is a magnificent, mechanical marvel which has been constructed to 21st century, state-of-the-art engineering. It is already being recognised as an iconic landmark worthy of Scotland's traditional engineering expertise.
Designed to replace a series of lock gates built in the 19th century - long since demolished and replaced by housing - The Falkirk Wheel is the showpiece of the Millennium Link project where coast-to-coast navigation of the canals has been re-established for the first time in over 40 years.
The Forth& Clyde canal was opened in 1773 and extended from Grangemouth on the River Forth, to Bowling on the River Clyde. The Union (or Edinburgh & Glasgow Union) canal was opened much later in 1822 and operated from Edinburgh to Falkirk with a series of locks connecting the two canals at Port Downie in Camelon. These were demolished years ago and for decades there has been no through traffic on the canals.
