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Published: July 22nd 2012
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We drove down to the Scottish borders today to visit a few abbeys.
First we visited Jedburgh which is a lovely border town, when we arrived we went for lunch at the coffee corner which is a great wee spot to refuel before going to the Abbey.
Jedburgh Abbey is a stunning building, the first church was built on the site at 830, then a bishop from Glasgow built the existing abbey in 1138, vaults, undercrofts and cellars were also built in the early 1200's within the grounds. Jedburgh Abbey had to endure four major attacks between 1409-1523 which destroyed most of the complex. Now there is much conservation work being done to keep the remaining buildings in tact and what is left standing is very beautiful to see. We also walked round the ruins of the vaults, cellars and gardens before heading to the Jedbrugh Jail. It is an old building designed to keep prisoners in side including men, women and children who have been sentenced.
We then drove back up the road and visited Melrose Abbey where we say another stunning abbey built in 1136 on the site of an existing church dating back to 651
which was destroyed in 850. The new abbey was destroyed during raids by the English in 1385 but new buildings were created elsewhere in Melrose in 1400 and the ruined abbey was preserved as an ancient monument in 1810. King Alexander II was buried at Melrose Abbey in 1249 and in 1331 King Robert the Bruce’s heart was also buried at the abbey. Now with the Abbey mostly in ruins it is a great place to walk around and even climb up the tower to get an eagles view over the surrounding grounds and cemetery.
Lastly we drove further down the road to Dryburgh Abbey which is a smaller Abbey built in the twelfth century, it is a very peaceful refuge from the world being set deep in the woods and valleys of the area. Dryburgh Abbey was first devastated by fire in 1322 and again in 1383 and 1523, then a brutal attack came upon the abbey in 1544 and this attack proved to be the final degradation from which the monastery never recovered. Today it is a romantic ruin and garden to explore and Dryburgh is the only abbey in the area that has vaults and cellars
still in tact so we enjoyed looking in these old buildings.
We had such a fantastic day discovering these ancient ruins, each one was unique and spectacular in there own way, as you walk around them you can only imagine the grandness of each abbey in their day and steep yourself in their history. Each abbey was a working monastery which housed monks and priors full time but also acted as a refuge for villagers, Kings and other important visitors . It is pretty unbelievable to see all the tall archways and windows that stand and as we try to comprehend the sheer size of the sites its mind-blowing to think of the era these buildings were built in. It became clear to us that all the abbeys in the area suffered either from fire or planned attacks and its such as shame to see the devastation in these old buildings, but what remains is still beautiful and we are happy they are now being conserved for future explorers to discover.
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