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Dryburgh Abbey by Kaybeedigital from

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about the Dryburgh Abbey

Hugh de Morville established Dryburgh around 1150 for the Premonstratensian canons of Northumberland’s Alnwick Priory. De Morville was the Constable of Scotland and the Nobleman of Lauderdale. Still, he was actually a Norman lord with origins in England, so it is not surprising that he invited English canons to live in his new monastery.

Though the abbey church was the main focus of construction, it took until the beginning of the 13th century for the church to be completed.

There’s a lot more about the abbey that you need to know, read on and read the 10 remarkable facts.

1. In 1322, soldiers from England set it ablaze

Stewart by National Galleries from

Despite being destroyed by English forces in 1322, it thrived in the fourteenth century before being destroyed by Richard II in 1385. Following a brief period of survival up until the Scottish Reformation, when James VI of Scotland gave it to the Earl of Mar, it was ultimately destroyed in 1544. The surrounding landscape is listed in Scotland’s Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes and is currently a recognised scheduled monument.

11th Earl of Buchan David Steuart Erskine In 1786, the Earl of Buchan acquired the property. On its grounds are the graves of Douglas Haig and Sir Walter Scott. Their grave and headstones are each recognised as a Category A listed building, together with other memorials.

2. St. Norbert of Xanten created the Premonstratensian order

St. Norbert of Xanten by ToAr from

Initially, a canon at Xanten Cathedral, St. Norbert of Xanten founded the Premonstratensian order. He left the Rhine region for the diocese of Laon in northern France because he was dissatisfied with the lifestyle of his fellow canons. There, the reforming Bishop Bartholomew was turning his see into one that was more apostolic.

In 1120, Bartholomew persuaded Norbert to form a canonical order at Prémontré in the Aisne. Despite the order’s Augustinian structure, the canons wore white robes rather than black.  They lived a simple life as monks, but they also had a responsibility to preach and educate those outside the monastery gates.

3. Scotland’s King David I was loyal to the monastery

David I of Scotland by Royal Collection RCIN 403281 from

Hugh de Morville, though a highly wealthy noble, was unable to fund Dryburgh on the same level as a monarch, unlike the situation at nearby Melrose Abbey with its royal support.

However, it appears that King David I of Scotland was sympathetic to the monastery as it is noted in a charter that the king permitted the abbey to freely take timber from his forests for the construction work in addition to confirming various donations from de Morville’s wife, Beatrice de Beauchamp.

4. After Hugh passed away, his son Richard continued to support the abbey

Richard continued to serve as the abbey’s patron after his father Hugh passed away. But around 1170, he established the St. Leonard’s hospital close to his castle in Lauder, and between 1169 and 1187, he erected the abbey of Kilwinning in the Cunningham lordship. Kilwinning Abbey was constructed on a grand scale, but it was not adequately funded.

Richard made sure that some of the cost of its construction and maintenance was covered by his Lauderdale holdings; in fact, a long-running dispute arose between Kilwinning and Dryburgh over the former’s share of the tithes from the church of Lauder. Both monasteries would continue to be in a condition of relative poverty as a result of Richard de Morville’s founding of this second monastery.

5. In the 13th century the abbey suffered from debt

Similar to its nearby neighbour Melrose Abbey, the abbey of Dryburgh began a larger-scale renovation effort at the beginning of the 13th century. However, building in stone against the backdrop of uncertain finances quickly insured that the construction work would not be finished quickly.

A number of legal disputes involving property ownership and tithe revenues were also brought up at this time, and in April 1221, the Pope’s legate was required to spend time in Dryburgh to make a decision. The building project continued until the 1240s, and as debts mounted, Abbott John was given permission on April 21, 1242, by Bishop David de Bernham of St. Andrews, to name his canons as vicars to the supporting churches.

6. Abbott John was accused of poor money management

Pope Alexander IV wrote to the Bishop of St. Andrews on January 13, 1255, demanding that Abbott John resigns because of his ineffective financial management. and to Nicholas de Prenderlathe, abbot of Jedburgh, who demanded that most of the abbey’s income be redirected to paying off debts while just a minimal amount of cash was to be preserved for day-to-day costs.

Over the course of the following forty years, during a time of relatively stable economic conditions, the abbey’s finances slowly improved. Although this was an improvement, it was only marginal because Dryburgh’s surrounding monasteries, with their vastly larger grazing areas, were the primary source of much higher revenue.

7. On August 28, 1296, the abbots of Dryburgh, Jedburgh, Melrose, and Kelso all submitted to Edward I

The Ragman Rolls, which took place on August 28, 1296, saw the submission of the abbots of Dryburgh, Jedburgh, Melrose, and Kelso to Edward I. As a result, on September 2, Edward ordered the restoration of Dryburgh Abbey’s estates.

Very few documents of the abbey exist from this time on until the year 1316, however, it is known that Sir Henry de Percy, a senior member of the English invading force, stationed himself and his cortege at Dryburgh in 1310.

8. Andrew Forman served as Dryburgh Abbey’s first commendator 

David I, King of Scotland by Jacob de Wet II from

Clerics who performed excellent service for King James IV were honoured with commendatorships. The Bishop of Moray, Andrew Forman, gave Dryburgh Abbey its first commendation in 1509. Forman spent a lot of time travelling over Europe working as a diplomat for James IV, but he also made a lot of money through his positions in the church and other positions.

James Ogilvie, a fellow secular cleric and diplomat[78] who was given the temporalities of the monastery in August 1516, succeeded Forman after he relinquished his rights to Dryburgh sometime after becoming Archbishop of St Andrews.  He was only the commendator for a brief period until he passed away in 1518.

9. There are rumours that a spirit lives in Dryburgh 

DRYBURGH ABBEY by Jacob de Wet II from

According to a folktale, Fat Lips, a kind spirit, resides among the Dryburgh Abbey ruins. A woman who had been betrayed by her lover during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 made the destroyed abbey her home and claimed that Fat Lips, a small guy wearing iron boots, used to clean her cell for her. 

10. Influential nobles helped restore the abbey

The damage to Dryburgh was severe, and prominent nobility appears to have contributed significantly to its restoration; in the final years of the 1380s, it appears that Walter Trail, Bishop of St. Andrews, Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas, and Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife, all played roles in helping the abbey escape this catastrophe.

The family of the Black Douglases continued to support them, and in or about 1420, Archibald, fourth earl of Douglas, granted Dryburgh the proceeds from the assets of Smailholme parish church.

This Abbey is one of five other monasteries and historical sites that make up the Borders Abbeys Way tour in Scotland.