Inchcolm Abbey

Inchcolm Abbey stands on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth, off the coast of Fife. It was founded for Augustinian canons under the Diocese of Dunkeld, with David I of Scotland and Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld, among those associated with its establishment in the mid-twelfth century. A house began here as a priory and was raised to abbey status in 1235. Tradition links the site to King Alexander I, said to have sheltered on the island during a storm in 1123. Because of its exposed position in the Forth, the abbey suffered repeated English raids from the late thirteenth century onward. Monastic life was abandoned around 1560 during the Reformation, and in 1581 stone was removed from the buildings for use at the Edinburgh Tolbooth. The site is notable for preserving the most complete surviving remains of any Scottish monastic house: the cloister, chapter house, warming house and refectory all survive in good order, though the church itself is the least well preserved. The fifteenth-century chronicler Walter Bower served as abbot here. Today the ruins are cared for by Historic Environment Scotland and reached by ferry from South Queensferry.