Chapel Isle Of May With Music Firth Of Forth On Visit Off The Coast Of East Neuk Of Fife Scotland

Tour Scotland 4K travel video, with Scottish music, of St Adrian's Chapel on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit to the Isle Of May, located 5 miles off the coast of the East Neuk of Fife, Britain, United Kingdom. The priory of St Adrian on the Isle of May is traditionally thought to have been founded by David I for monks of Reading Abbey, sometime around 1135. Henry I, David's brother-in-law, was buried at Reading. The priory was established on a site where Saint Ethernan, who later became known as St Adrian, and several of his followers settled and established a monastery sometime before AD 669. Ethernan was probably trained on Iona, and also established a monastery at Kilrenny, on the East Neuk of Fife mainland. The priory chapel was one that had been in use for hundreds of years. The original monastic buildings were of timber, but by the 9th century, these had been replaced by stone buildings. The remains of the earliest stone church can be seen as an outline of rubble within the later medieval church foundations. The monks on May were killed by Viking raiders in 875, after which the island gained a reputation as a place of great sanctity. The Isle of May is the largest of the islands of the Firth of Forth. It is noted amongst naturalists for its colonies of seabirds, its migrant birds and its colony of grey seals. Designated a national nature reserve in 1956, it is now recognised as an important seabird research centre. The island is accessed during the spring and summer when a regular boat service operates from Anstruther and Crail to the landing at Kirkhaven. Weekly stays are possible in the Bird Observatory by prior arrangement. Close to the Kirkhaven landing stand the ruins of the Chapel of St Adrian which are all that remain of a priory built in the 12th century and dedicated to the Christian missionary who was killed on the island by marauding Danes in AD 875. The Isle of May was an important religious centre until its monks moved to Pittenweem in the 16th century, but the island remained inhabited until the early 18th century. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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