Arbroath Abbey - Angus, Scotland
Posted by: 
creg-ny-baa
N 56° 33.743 W 002° 35.013
30V E 525594 N 6268752
Red sandstone abbey founded by William I in 1178, now in a ruinous state in the Angus town of Arbroath on the east coast of Scotland.
Waymark Code: WM15V3X
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/28/2022
Views: 1
Arbroath Abbey was founded by Wililam I, also known as William the Lion, in 1178 as a memorial to Thomas Becket, and also to expand his right to rule authority in the north-east of Scotland. He asked Tironesian monks at Kelso Abbey to set up the abbey and the building was consecrated in 1197. The abbey took over sixty years to build with William the Lion being buried in the high altar in 1214, Scottish monarchs had previously been laid to rest at Dunfermline Abbey.
The abbey was built of local red sandstone in an early English architectural design, with a late Norman western front with twin towers. Decorated with blind arcading, it was cruciform in shape, 276 foot long by 160 foot wide. A central tower was topped with a spire.
The abbey featured a presbytery, monk's choir, two transepts, chapel aisles, and a nine-bay nave with aisles. Domestic buildings were grouped around a small cluster on the south side, with an Abbot's House and gatehouse to the west.
The Declaration of Arbroath was signed at the abbey, a letter to Pope John XXII which was sent by 39 Scottish nobles, barons and freemen in response to the renewed excommunication of Robert the Bruce, setting out Scotland's aim that it was an independent sovereign kingdom. Abbot Bernard of Arbroath - Chancellor to Robert I drafted the letter sent April 1320.
After the Protestant reformation in 1560 the abbey fell into decline and by 1580 it was largely dismantled, with some of the stone going into building a new burgh church. During the 18th century it was in a ruinous condition, although the round O window in the south transept was rebuilt by Robert Stevenson in 1809, the abbey's most notable remaining landmark serving as a guide to ships out on the North Sea.
In 1815 steps were taken to preserve the remains of the abbey and it has largely survived to its current state today, with the presbytery, sacristy, and south transept surviving, along with parts of the west front. A large graveyard occupies much of the remaining land.
The abbey remains are located just to the north of the town centre, with a visitor centre nearby.