Summer Lindores Abbey Newburgh North Fife Scotland

Tour Scotland 4K Summer travel video of the grounds and ruins of Lindores Abbey, which was a Tironensian abbey, on visit on the outskirts of Newburgh in North Fife. 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 195 feet long, with transepts 110 feet long. King Edward I of England, John Balliol, King David II, and James III were among the monarchs who visited Lindores at different times. The Abbey ceased operation in 1559. 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 ", according to one report. 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. 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. The earliest record of scotch whisky cited by the exchequer roll for 1494 is a commission from King James IV to Friar John Cor of Lindores Abbey to make about " eight bols of malt " or 580 kg of aquavitae as it was then known. Brother John Cor was a Tironensian monk based at Lindores Abbey. The Abbey is open to visitors and a whisky distillery, Lindores Abbey Distillery, in the Lowlands whisky region, is directly opposite the Abbey. It started distilling whisky in December 2017, using with three stills made by Forsyths of Rothes. Lindores Abbey planned to produce 150,000 litres of spirit per year.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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