Lindores Abbey
{{Short description|Abbey in Fife, Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox monastery
|name= Lindores Abbey
|image= SRD 1164 lowres.jpg
|caption= Abbey ruins
|order=
|founder= David, Earl of Huntingdon
|established= 1191
|mother=
|disestablished= 1559
|diocese=
|churches=
|people=
|embedded = {{Infobox designation list
|embed = yes
|designation1 = Scheduled Monument
|designation1_offname = Lindores Abbey
|designation1_type = Ecclesiastical: abbey; claustral remains; gateway; grange/farm - secular buildings associated; precincts; tower
|designation1_date = 13 April 1935
|designation1_number = {{Historic Environment Scotland|num=SM836|short=yes}}
}}
}}
Lindores Abbey was a Tironensian abbey on the outskirts of Newburgh in Fife, Scotland. Now a reduced ruin, it lies on the southern banks of the River Tay, about {{convert|1|mi|km|adj=on}} north of the village of Lindores and is a scheduled monument.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=SM836|desc=Lindores Abbey|access-date=24 February 2019}}
The abbey was founded as a daughter house of Kelso Abbey in 1191 (some sources say 1178), by David, Earl of Huntingdon, on land granted to him by his brother William the Lion. The first abbot was Guido, Prior of Kelso, under whom the buildings were mostly completed. The church, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and St. Andrew, was {{convert|195|ft|m}} long, with transepts {{convert|110|ft|m}} long. Edward I of England, John Balliol, David II, and James III were among the monarchs who visited Lindores at different times. The Abbey ceased operation in 1559.
History
File:Still found at Lindores.jpg
David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, who died during imprisonment at Falkland Palace in 1402, was buried at the Abbey.George Burnett, Exchequer Rolls of Scotland: 1379-1406, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1880), pp. xcii, 549.
The abbey was sacked by a mob from Dundee in 1543, and again by John Knox and his supporters in 1559. According to one report, they "overthrew the altars, broke up statues, burned the books and vestments and made them cast aside their monkish habits".[https://lindoresabbeydistillery.com/preservation-society/ Preservation Society]
After the Reformation, the Abbey passed into the hands of a Commendator, one whose loyal service to the King was rewarded by the gift of the ecclesiastical income and property. The monks remained for a time, but the Abbey began to be dismantled around 1584. In the following years the Abbey buildings were quarried as a source of building stone for Newburgh, and slate, timber and carvings from the Abbey as well as a number of architectural fragments are visible built into later structures in the town. When Patrick Leslie was Commendator, in August 1595, Anne of Denmark met the Earl of Orkney at Lindores .Letters of John Colville (Edinburgh, 1858), p. 175.
The main upstanding remains of the Abbey are: one of the gateways leading into the monastic enclosure; the groin-vaulted slype, leading from the cloister garth to the exterior of the Abbey; and parts of the chancel walls and western tower of the church, although the ground plan of the whole structure can still be traced. Sections of the imposing precinct wall which once enclosed the abbey can also be seen in fields to the south.
Carved wooden panels from the Abbey of the early 16th century survive in the Laing Museum, Newburgh and, reset in a 19th-century cabinet, in St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee.
The monks distilled rose water at the Abbey, and in May 1540 rosewater and apples from Lindores were sent to James V.Athol Murray, 'Pursemaster's Accounts', Miscellany of the Scottish History Society X (Edinburgh, 1965), p. 50.File:Lindores01.jpg
In 2018 a distillation vat was discovered in the ruins, along with evidence of whisky production. The remains of the still are preserved for display in the ruins.{{Cite web |url=https://www.geek.com/culture/worlds-oldest-whisky-still-discovered-in-scotland-1763599/ |title=World's Oldest Whisky Still Discovered in Scotland - Geek.com |access-date=2019-03-30 |archive-date=2019-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329150145/https://www.geek.com/culture/worlds-oldest-whisky-still-discovered-in-scotland-1763599/ |url-status=dead }}
Lindores Abbey distillery
{{main|Lindores Abbey distillery}}A whisky distillery, Lindores Abbey distillery is directly opposite the Abbey.File:Lindores Abbey Distillery.jpg
A commercial distillery located by the site of Lindores Abbey opened in 2017 and began distilling Scotch whisky by December of that year.[https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/06/on-this-day-1494first-mention-of-scotch-distilling/ ON THIS DAY 1494…FIRST MENTION OF SCOTCH DISTILLING] It is operated by the McKenzie Smith family.
Burials
- James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas
- David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay
- Robert and Henry, infant sons of David I, Earl of Huntingdon
See also
- Abbot of Lindores, for a list of abbots and commendators
- National Archives of Scotland for the exchequer roll
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{oscoor gbx|NO242185}}
- [http://lindoresabbeydistillery.com/ Lindores Abbey Distillery website]
- [https://archive.today/20130102010530/http://www.fife.50megs.com/lindores-abbey2.htm Tour Lindores Abbey.]
- [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=87282004 Divine Inspiration.] The Scotsman. 24 January 2004
- {{CathEncy|wstitle=Benedictine Abbey of Lindores}}
- [http://www.thewhiskybarrel.com/blog/post/id/56/n/lindores-abbey Lindores Abbey - Home of Scotch Whisky.] 1 October 2011
- [https://canmore.org.uk/site/30109/lindores-abbey Entry for Lindores Abbey in Canmore database.]
{{Catholic|wstitle=Benedictine Abbey of Lindores}}
{{Commons category|Lindores Abbey}}
{{coord|56.35274|N|3.22816|W|region:GB_type:landmark_source:enwiki-osgb36(NO242185)|display=title}}
Category:Listed monasteries in Scotland
Category:Tironensian monasteries
Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1190s
Category:Scheduled monuments in Fife
Category:Tourist attractions in Fife
Category:Ruined abbeys and monasteries
Category:Former Christian monasteries in Scotland