 SCOTLAND AT PRAYER
Scotland has a rich and turbulent religious heritage; Christianity arrived in the fifth century AD, via St Ninian, a Briton who converted the southern Picts from Paganism. He was based at Whithorn, where important excavations are currently being undertaken. St Columba did his share of the work a century or so later from Iona. St Kentigern, St Cuthbert and St Aidan were among the later missionaries who contributed to the spread of Christianity. Many centuries later, great monastic houses were formed, and many of the abbeys described here are monuments to the spread of religion. The historical buildings and monuments division of the Scottish development department is to be congratulated on the good work it does to preserve the past-against the odds. The four great border abbeys, Melrose, Kelso, Dryburgh and Jedburgh, suffered greatly at the hands of the English, while the less accessible Inchcolm Abbey and St Magnus Cathedral survived in holy splendour. ARBROATH ABBEYLOCATION - ARBROATH, TAYSIDE AGE - 12TH CENTURY
CRATHIE CHURCH
LOCATION - CRATHIE, 8m W OF BALLATER, GRAMPIAN AGE - BUILT 1895
DRYBURGH ABBEYLOCATION - OFF A68, 6m SE OF MELROSE, BORDERS AGE - 12TH CENTURY
DUNFERMLINE ABBEY
LOCATION - PITTENCRIEFF PARK, DUNFERMLINE, FIFE AGE - 11TH CENTURY
DUNKELD CATHEDRAL
LOCATION - HIGH STREET, DUNKELD, NEAR PERTH, TAYSIDE AGE - 12TH CENTURY
INCHCOLM ABBEYLOCATION - INCHCOLM ISLAND, FIRTH FORTH, FIFE AGE - 13TH CENTURY INVERARY BELL-TOWERLOCATION - INVERARY, ARGYLL, STRATHCLYDE AGE - 20TH CENTURY
IONA ABBEYLOCATION - ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF MULL, STRATHCLYDE AGE - 11TH -13TH CENTURY JEDBURGH ABBEYLOCATION - HIGH STREET, JEDBURGH, BORDERS AGE - 12TH CENTURY
KELSO ABBEYLOCATION - BRIDGE STREET, KELSO, BORDERS AGE - 12TH CENTURY
MELROSE ABBEYLOCATION - MAIN SQUARE, MELROSE, BORDERS AGE - 12TH-15TH CENTURIES
RUTHWELL CROSSLOCATION - B724 8m SE OF DUMFRIES, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY AGE - 7TH CENTURY
ST ANDREW'S CATHEDRALLOCATION - ST ANDREW'S FIFE AGE - 12TH CENTURY
ST MAGNUS CATHEDRALLOCATION - KIRKWALL, ORKNEY AGE - 12TH CENTURY
WHITHORN PRIORYLOCATION - WHITHORN, 10m S OF WIGTOWN, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY AGE - 12TH CENTURY
ST. GILES CATHEDRAL…
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This
Tironensian abbey founded by William the Lion in 1178
is famous as the place where the Declaration of Arbroath
was made on 6 April 1320-declaring Robert the Bruce
as king and asserting Scotland's independence from the
English. The famous declaration by a group of Scottish
barons was sent to Pope John XXII. The abbey was dedicated
to Thomas Beckett and boasts one of the most outstanding
examples of an abbot's house. Parts of the church and
the domestic buildings remain. Arbroath Abbey became
the second richest religious house in Scotland, but
it escaped the ravages of the English which plagued
the great abbeys of the Borders. However, there were
several outbreaks of fire here, and the abbey was attacked
by reformers from Dundee.
The
uniqueness of Crathie church is due to the close association
Deeside has with the Royal Family. Since 1848, when Queen
Victoria first visited the area, every British Monarch has
worshipped with the local congregation at Crathie on a Sunday.
The present church was built in 1895 to replace the building
of 1804, and its foundation stone was laid in 1893 by the
Queen. In style it is gothic, although it has some Norman
features. The tower houses four bells gifted by Queen Victoria's
daughter, Princess Beatrice. The Royal Family has endowed
the church with many other gifts, including an Iona marble
communion table donated by George V in memory of Edward VII
himself had a gifted two white marble medallions in memory
of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and of Princess Victoria,
Queen of Prussia. Queen Victoria presented a Father Willis
Organ, and our present Queen gifted a royal-crested bible.
The south transept of the church is set apart for the Royal
Family and household, while the north transept contains the
pews of the lairds of Invercauld and Abergeldie. 
Dryburgh,
one of the four great border abbeys, stands on a picturesque
site alongside the river tweed near St Boswell's. It was the
first Scottish home of the White cannons of the Premonstratensian
order, and was founded in 1150 by Hugh Morville, Constable
of David. The abbey was burned by the English in 1322, 1385,
1461 and 1523, but the ruins are remarkably complete. Much
of the surviving building is dated as 12th and 13th century.
Etched into a foundation stone in the ruined northern wall
of the nave is a merelles board, merelles having been a board
game, similar to the modern noughts and crosses, introduced
to England by the Normans. The abbey is most famous as the
burial place of Scotland's most noted novelist, Sir Walter
Scott. Field Marshal Earl Haig is also buried here. A huge
statue of Sir William Wallace stands above the abbey. Facilities
include visitor centre. Wheelchair access to the site is difficult.
Dunfermline
Abbey is the great Benedictine abbey founded by Queen Margaret,
the wife of Malcolm Canmore, during the 11th century. The
foundations of her church lie beneath the present remarkable
Romanesque nave, which was consecrated in the 12th century.
David I, who took an active interest in the spread of the
abbeys, was St Margaret's son, and he brought an abbot from
Canterbury in 1128 for the enlarged abbey. Robert the Bruce
was buried in the choir, which is now the site of the parish
church. A brass plaque in the choir marks his grave. At
the east end of the church are the remains of St Margaret's
13th century shrine. Next to the abbey is the ruin of the
royal palace rebuilt from the monastery guesthouse in the
16th century for James VI. Charles I, the last monarch born
in Scotland, was born here. The ruins of the abbey refectory
and pend still remain. Facilities include two shops and
partial wheelchair access. 
Picturesquely
situated on the banks of the River Tay, Dunkeld Cathedral
is a haven of peace. It was founded in the 12th century
on the site of an ancient church. The refurbished choir
is now used as the parish church, but the 15th century nave
and northwest tower are in the care of the Secretary of
State for Scotland. The nave, restored in 1406, shows a
Dutch influence-particularly the heavy cylindrical columns.
In 1689 Covenanting troops were trapped in the cathedral
grounds, pinned down by Jacobites who were elated by their
victory at Killencrankie. The covenantors rushed out with
burning faggots attached to their halberds and set fire
to thatched houses which sheltered Jacobite snipers. The
National Trust for Scotland owns 20 houses near the cathedral,
dating back to the rebuilding of the town after the battle.
Access to the cathedral for wheelchairs is difficult, and
there is no visitor centre. 
Inchcolm
Abbey was founded in 1123 as an Augustinian church, but grew
into an abbey in 1235. The remains are still the best preserved
group of monastic buildings in Scotland. Inchcolm islet attracted
many hermits, and the Danes paid through the nose to have
their dead buried here a thousand years or so ago. Alexander
I was storm-bound at Inchcolm in 1123, the year before he
died, and the hermits gave him hospitality. It was he who
set the plan for the abbey in motion. This century Inchcolm
was a strategic part of Scotland's defence network. It was
garrisoned during the First World War, when the forth estuary
was one of the most heavily defended in the United Kingdom;
and it was fortified with 500 men during the second World
War as a precaution against Hitler's invasion plans. Ferries
set sail regularly to Inchcolm from south Queensferry and
Aberdour. Wheelchair access to the abbey is difficult. There
are toilets and a picnic area.
The
Bells! The Bells! Campanologists take note: this 126-feet
high tower is world famous. It contains Scotland's finest
Bells, which have the second heaviest ring of ten bells
in the world. Ringers may sometimes be seen in action.
At other times visitors have to be content with a recording
of the unique sound. The granite-bell tower is a memorial
to the Campbells who fell in the First World War and was
planned by the 10th Duke of Argyll in 1914. It had to
wait until 1931 to open, and the Duke wrote a few years
later: 'the belfry was gradually built to contain the
fine peal of ten bells which are the finest north of the
tweed. Each bell bears the name of one of the old Celtic
saints.' Worth a visit for the views from the tower, and
for the glorious sound of the bells ringing across loch
and glen. There is partial wheelchair access. 
Iona's
prestige began in AD 563 when the Celtic bishop Columba and
his 12 companions sailed from Ireland to found a monasteryhere.
He used it as a base form which to convert the Picts to Christianity.
The monastery was attacked and burned six times by Vikings
and was eventually abandoned in favour of Kells in Ireland.
Iona was re-occupied in 1203 as a Benedictine monastery, but
it fell into ruin during the Reformation when symbols of the
Roman Catholic faith came under attack. The oldest surviving
building at St Oran's chapel, and the ornately carved St Martin's
cross stands outside the cathedral. Today Iona is a sacred
place visited by over 200,000 pilgrims per year. The Iona
community, founded by George Macleod of Fuinary in 1938, has
played a prominent part in the restoration of the abbey. Facilities
include a book and gift shop, and a coffee-house. The island
is reached by ferry from Fionnphort or by steamer from Oban.
No visitors' cars are allowed. 
The
great Augustinian abbey founded by David I and the Bishop
of Glasgow around 1138 was burned nine times by the marauding
English and rebuilt eight times. One of the first churches
to be built in the more refined Gothic style, in design it
resembles a nunnery in Hampshire when King David had lived.
It has been described as the most perfect and beautiful of
the Saxon and early Gothic Scotland. Jedburgh Abbey ruins
are splendid and extensive. They include a fine rose window
on the west from known as St Catherine's Wheel. A new visitor
centre at Jedburgh has displays and models illustrating life
in a mediaeval monastery and a glazed gallery providing a
magnificent view of the site. A viewing route has been laid
out through the abbey and the monks' herb garden has been
re-planted.
Founded
by David I in 1128 for the Tironesian order of monks,
Kelso Abbey was the largest and wealthiest of the great
BorderAbbeys. It was often attacked by the English, and
the buildings were even evacuated for a while during the
wars of independence. In 1460 James III was crowned in
the abbey and during the 16th century it was all destroyed
by the English. In 1545, the Earl of Hereford attacked
the abbey, killed everybody in the garrison, including
twelve monks and burned it to the ground. The building
was further mutilated during the Reformation, and is now
in ruins. It is none the less, an excellent piece of Romanesque
architecture. The abbey's design is unique in Scotland
with both western and eastern transepts and a tower over
both crossings. The Vatican archives still have a written
description of the abbey in its heyday when it had 40
monks. There are no visitor services, and wheelchair access
is difficult. 
Melrose
Abbey, Scotland's first Cistercian abbey, was founded by David
I around 1136. It was repeatedly wrecked during the Wars of
Independence, but most of its remains are of an elegance unique
in Scotland-far finer than usual Cistercian model. The ruin
is probably Scotland's most famous and most of the remains
date back to the 15th century. Richard II razed the abbey
to the ground in 1385, and rebuilding was undertaken to a
very ornate English design. Later a Parisian mason called
John Morrow introduced a more flamboyant stonework, including
flying buttresses decorated with statuettes. Part of the nave
was used as a parish church as late as the 19th century. Unusually
for Scotland, the church is totally vaulted and the cloisters
face north. Melrose abbey is famous as the burial place of
Robert the Bruce's heart, of Alexander II and of Michael Scott,
the 13th century philosopher who became known as the 'Wizard
of the North'. There is a visitor centre with easy access
for disabled people. 
The
Ruthwell Cross is one of the most important attractions on
the Solway Coast Heritage Trail. A runic cross, is dates back
to about AD 680 and bears the oldest extant fragment of written
English. The cross is a priceless work of art and is considered
to be one of the major monuments of Dark Age Europe. The cross
was nearly destroyed as an 'idolatrous monument' during the
Reformation. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
ordered its destruction, but a succession of forward thinking
ministers of the parish craftily conserved it for posterity.
One of them was the Rev'd Henry Duncan, who founded the world's
first bona fide savings bank at Ruthwell.The cross is 18 feet
high and stands in the parish church. It was designed to tell
the story of life and passion of Christ-a sermon on stone.
It bears figure sculptures and Latin inscriptions. The key
to the church can be obtained at Kirkyett cottage. There is
wheelchair access to church with assistance. 
This
magnificent cathedral founded in 1160 is one of Europe's major
historical cities used to be the largest church in Scotland.
Thousands of pilgrims travelled here to pray at the 31 altars.
Sadly it is now in ruins. The remains in the church dedicated
to Scotland's patron saint include portions of the east and
west gables, the south wall of the nave and parts of the choir
and south transept. Some of the domestic ranges of the priory
have also survived. The museum houses a wealth of fascinating
relics including a unique sarcophagus dated around AD 900.
The cathedral was founded in 1160 as a replacement to the
12th century Augustinian church of St Rule, and was consecrated
in 1318. The precinct walls are the finest surviving examples
in Scotland, and were built in 1520. Nearby are the remains
of the square St Rule's Tower, which has a Northumbrian look
about it. There is a wheelchair access to the ground floor
and gardens. 
St
Magnus Cathedral is the only mediaeval Scottish cathedral
to have survived intact, and has been described as 'the
crown of the Northern Isles' 
St
Ninian built Scotland's first recorded Christian church
at Whithorn during the fifth century-long before Columba
reached the shores of Iona. Archaeologists have been
investigating the site since 1986 and have discovered
some significant remains, including those of a viking
settlement. If visitor's don't mind skeletons, the will
enjoy the Whithorn dig, which received a Glasgow Herald
award in 1987 for the site offering the most to the
public. Since then a visitor centre has opened. During
the middle ages St Ninian's shrine became one of Western
Europe's most renowned seats of learning, and many monarchs
made the pilgrimage including Mary, Queen of Scots,
Robert the Bruce, Queen Margaret of Denmark and James
V. The dig shop sells books, postcards and craft work.
The visitor centre has audio-visual aids, and guided
tours are available. 
When
you walk through the door of St. Giles Cathedral, you
are entering one of the most historic and romantic buildings
in Scotland. Founded in the 1100s, this church has witnessed
executions, riots and celebrations. Its famous crown
spire has dominated Edinburgh's skyline for over 500
years.
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