Kelso Abbey

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Kelso Abbey

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

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.