Inchmahome Priory — The Ancient Codex

Inchmahome Priory, Stirling — Photo: Bubobubo2 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

The priory was founded in 1238 by Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, for a small community of Augustinian canons (the Black Canons). There is some evidence that a church stood on the island before the…

Inchmahome Priory is a building or ruin near Port of Menteith, Stirling, Scotland.

What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.

The name

Inchmahome derives from the Gaelic Innis MoCholmaig, 'island of St Colmaig' — innis (island) joined to a saint's name, a typical naming pattern for the small monastic islands of medieval Scotland.

History

Inchmahome Priory — historical view — Photo: Neil Aitkenhead / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

King Robert the Bruce visited three times — in 1306, 1308 and 1310 — visits thought to have been politically motivated, since the first prior had sworn allegiance to the English king Edward I.

In 1547 the priory sheltered the four-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots for a few weeks following the Scots' defeat at the Battle of Pinkie during the Rough Wooing. The future Robert II had earlier stayed at the priory in 1358.

The priory declined through the 16th century as monastic offices were handed to local landowners; in 1547 the office passed to John, Lord Erskine. After the Reformation no new priests were ordained and the property passed into secular hands, eventually to the Erskine family (1606) and later the Marquess of Montrose. The 6th Duke of Montrose transferred it into State care in 1926.

People

Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith

Founder of the priory in 1238
Portrait: S.A.Farabi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Robert the Bruce

King of Scots; visited the priory three times (1306, 1308, 1310)
Portrait: Unidentified painter / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Mary, Queen of Scots

Sheltered here aged four in 1547 after the Battle of Pinkie
Robert II

Future King of Scots; stayed at the priory in 1358
John, Lord Erskine

Took the priory office in 1547; later head of Cambuskenneth and Dryburgh abbeys
Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham

Author and politician buried in the ruined chancel, with his wife Gabriela

Cultural influences

Founded for the Augustinian order (the Black Canons), placing it within the wave of reformed-canon foundations established in 13th-century Scotland under powerful noble patronage.
A foundation of the Comyn family, one of the most powerful in 13th-century Scotland, who held an imposing country house on the neighbouring island of Inch Talla.

Connections

Photo: James T M Towill / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

Inch Talla

Neighbouring island in the Lake of Menteith holding the Comyn family's country house
Cambuskenneth and Dryburgh abbeys

Later also headed by John, Lord Erskine, who took the Inchmahome office in 1547
Photo: Brian Turner / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

Port of Menteith

Mainland pier from which the priory is reached by boat

What to look for

Much of the original 13th-century structure survives among the ruins, despite most of the buildings now being roofless.
The ruined chancel holds the graves of author and politician Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham and his wife Gabriela, with a stone commemorating his nephew and heir Admiral A.E.M.B. Cunninghame Graham.
The island setting itself — Inchmahome is the largest of three islands in the Lake of Menteith, reached only by boat from the Port of Menteith pier.

Plan your visit

Location: 56.1761°N · 4.2978°W
Nearest settlement: Port of Menteith
Access: Paid entry — managed visitor site
Start point: Port of Menteith · By Kippen · Stirling · FK8 3RA · National Grid reference: NN 574 005 · Telephone: 07388 709 398 · Inchmahome Priory is on an island and is reached by a small motor boat from the Port of Menteith. The boat leaves from the pier by the boat shed.
Start point: Port of Menteith pier (Inchmahome ferry) — Inchmahome is on an island. Reached only by HES motor-boat from the pier by the boat shed at Port of Menteith; the listed distance is the over-water crossing, not a walk. Confirm ferry operation/season before travelling.
Sat-nav: FK8 3RA · NN 574 005