Lindores Abbey - Newburgh, Fife, Scotland
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creg-ny-baa
N 56° 21.124 W 003° 13.535
30V E 486059 N 6245286
Ruins of Lindores Abbey on the eastern edge of the small Fife town of Newburgh, founded in 1191 and abandoned in 1559.
Waymark Code: WM18P4W
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/03/2023
Views: 0
The small town of Newburgh lies in north-west Fife on the southern bank of the Firth of Tay, and houses the ruins of Lindores Abbey on its eastern edge.
The Tironensian Abbey was founded as a daughter house to Kelso Abbey in 1191 by David, Earl of Huntingdon on land granted by his brother William the Lion. the first Abbot was Guido, Prior of Kelso, under whom the buildings were completed. The church was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and St Andrew, and was 195 feet, with 110 feet transepts.
The abbey was sacked by a mob from Dundee in 1543, and underwent worse damage in 1559 from John Knox and his supporters. After this the monks remained for a time but the abbey began to be dismantled around 1584, and in the following years the buildings were quarried as a source of building materials for Newburgh.
The remaining parts that are preserved are, the gateway leading into the Monastic enclosure, the groin-vaulted slype leading from the cloister garth to the exterior, parts of the chancel walls and the western tower of the church, and sections of the precinct wall.
The Lindores Abbey Distillery was opened in 2017 across the road. The monks distilled rose water at the abbey, and in 2018 during excavation work, a distillation vat was discovered.