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Melrose Abbey in the town of Melrose today consists of the ruins of a magnificent Cistercian monastery, St Mary, which was founded during the reign of King David I by Cistercian monks. However, the true history of Melrose Abbey began long before the appearance of those majestic red walls that have survived to this day.
Old Melrose: origins in the 7th century
Let’s turn back the clock to the 7th century, the era of saints and kings. In the year 651 AD, a saint named Aidan of Lindisfarne established an ancient monastery. Today it is known as Old Melrose (then “Mailros”). It is located in a picturesque bend on the River Tweed, about two and a half miles east of the current ruins. Aidan brought monks with him from the Isle of Iona who were followers of Saint Columba. It was within these walls that the most famous monk of that time grew up – Saint Cuthbert. Notably, in 664 AD he became the prior of this very first monastery in Old Melrose and six years later he was called to lead Lindisfarne.
However, the ancient abbey did not stand for long. It was completely destroyed by the forces of the Scottish King, Kenneth MacAlpin in 839 AD. Despite severe destruction, the site continued to be used for prayer and the church remained active for several hundred years after the devastation.
Construction of the new abbey under David I
The true golden age began during the reign of King David I. In 1136 AD he invited Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire to build a new monastery. Initially, the king wished to revive Aidan’s ancient holy site at Mailros as it still held great significance for the Scots. However, the Cistercians were pragmatists – they required fertile land for farming. Therefore after negotiations with the king they received approval to erect the new abbey slightly to the west, in a place called Little Fordel. Today, this very location is known as Melrose.
The first 12 monks led by their abbot began work on the construction of the new monastery and its adjacent buildings. The main eastern part of the church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary on 28 June 1146 AD while the remaining buildings took another half-century to complete. During this period the monk Jocelin was the most prominent figure. It was he who became the fourth Abbot of Melrose in 1170 AD. The success of the new foundation was so great that as early as 1150 AD, King David I requested the monks establish a daughter house in Kinloss, Moray.
Architectural style and Cistercian asceticism
By the way, that first 12th-century abbey was much humbler than the one we see today. The Cistercians were famous for their asceticism – no excesses, just simple architecture inspired by their “mother” house at Rievaulx. The nave, presbytery and transepts formed the core of the abbey’s foundation, all with minimal ornamentation.
English invasions and the burial of the King’s heart
Soon, a town grew around Melrose Abbey. However peaceful times ended in 1322 AD when the army of the English King, Edward II, swept through the south of Scotland and the priory suffered its first English attack. Melrose was burned and many monks were killed. King Robert the Bruce helped to rebuild the monastery. The strong bond between the King and this ancient sanctuary is proven by a legend that Bruce’s heart (according to his own will) was embalmed, placed in a lead casket and buried right there (although his body rests in Dunfermline).
Robert the Bruce died in 1329 AD in the town of Cardross. Sir James Douglas took the King’s heart with him on a crusade but died himself in battle in Spain and in his final moments threw the King’s heart at the Moors. When the battle ended Bruce’s heart was recovered and brought to Melrose where it was finally laid to rest.
A century of reconstruction and trials by fire
But this was not the final ordeal. In 1385 AD, the Scots, hoping to distract the English from their affairs in France, launched a raid on Northern England. The idea proved disastrous. The forces of Richard II of England defeated David II and while pushing the Scottish army back towards Edinburgh Melrose Abbey was burned to the ground.
It took more than a hundred years to rebuild the priory. Interestingly, various architectural styles were used during the reconstruction and judging by the style the work was begun by the English under Richard II and continued by the Scots.
The construction lasted so long that even King James IV who visited in 1502 AD and 1504 AD found it still in full swing. And this was over 100 years later! Historians believe that the western part of the nave was never completed according to its original plan. Yet it is this very section that remains the only part of the church which survives from the original 12th-century structure. The ruins that stand today bear witness to the magnificence of the old monastery.
The reformation and transformation into a quarry
English forces invaded Scottish territory in 1544 AD and in 1545 AD again. The army served as support for Henry VIII who was attempting to force the Scots to betroth the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, to his son. This tactic of “negotiation by fire and sword” left Melrose in ruins. By 1556 AD the remaining monks wrote with bitterness that without urgent repairs to the old priory the monastery would be unable to continue its work through the coming winter.
In 1560 AD, to save their lives, the monks supported the reformation. However this changed little as the buildings of Melrose were already crumbling. The last monk died here in 1590 AD and the abbey was subsequently turned into a quarry for local residents who salvaged hewn stone, lead, glass and timber from the site.
In 1610 AD a portion of the nave was converted into a parish church, windows were blocked up and new walls were inserted into the existing structure. It served the community until 1810 AD when a new church was built elsewhere in the town of Melrose.
Melrose Abbey today
Today, Melrose Abbey is more than just ruins. It is a remarkably preserved skeleton of a grand temple. Originally built in the Gothic style the church was designed in the shape of a Latin cross. To this day most of the walls with their tall Gothic windows and the 26 metre-high tower have survived.
In its heyday the abbey walls were adorned with beautiful statues, figures of saints, dragons, gargoyles and floral decor. If you climb the spiral staircase to the very top of the ruins today you can see the surviving carving of a pig playing the bagpipes. Also visible on the staircase is an inscription left by master mason John Morrow which reads: “Be halde to ye hende,” which has become the motto of Melrose. To the north one can discern the foundations of monastic outbuildings stretching all the way to the mill stream that the monks once diverted from the Tweed.
In the northern part of the abbey grounds stands the Commendator’s House. In later times Commendators were lay administrators – usually those with the right connections who wished to draw income from the monastic lands. The building itself dates back to the 15th century, but in 1590 AD it was converted into a residential mansion. It now houses a stunning museum containing what is arguably the finest collection of mediaeval antiquities in all of Scotland.
