Tour Scotland 4K travel video, with Scottish music, of the Medieval Abbey on ancestry visit to Inchcolm Island, Scottish Gaelic Innis Choluim, meaning Columba's Island, in the Firth of Forth, Britain, United Kingdom. Scotland's most complete surviving monastic house. In former times, and perhaps partly due to its dedication to Saint Columba, it was sometimes nicknamed Iona of the East. The well preserved abbey and ruins of the 9th century hermit's cells attract visitors to the island. It was the home of a religious community linked with St Colm or St Columba, the 6th century Abbot of Iona. King Alexander I was storm bound on the island for three days in 1123 and in recognition of the shelter given to him by the hermits, promised to establish a monastic settlement in honour of St Columba. Though the king died before the promise could be fulfilled, his brother King David I later founded a priory here for monks of the Augustinian order; the priory was erected into an abbey in 1223. Inchcolm is located off the south coast of Fife opposite Braefoot Bay, east of the Forth Bridge, south of Aberdour, Fife, and north of the City of Edinburgh. It is separated from the Fife mainland by a stretch of water known as Mortimer's Deep. The island forms part of the parish of Aberdour, and lies a quarter of a mile from the shore. In the days when people were compelled to cross the Firth of Forth by boat as opposed to bridge, the island was a great deal less isolated, and on the ferry routes between Leith in Lothian and Fife. In 1335, there was an especially bad raid by an English ship when the abbey's treasures were stolen, along with a statue of Saint Columba. The story goes that the ship was nearly wrecked on Inchkeith and had to dock at Kinghorn. The sailors taking a religious turn, thought that this was due to the wrath of Columba, returned the statue and treasures to the island, and experienced good weather on their outward journey. The island was also used as a kind of prison. Amongst those interned here were, Archbishop Patrick Graham of St Andrews, along with Euphemia, mother of Alexander, Lord of the Isles. In the 16th century it became the property of Sir James Stewart, whose grandson became third Earl of Moray by virtue of his marriage to the elder daughter of the first earl. From it comes the earl's title of Lord St Colme. In the 1880s, a skeleton was found built into one of the abbey's walls. It was standing upright and is of unknown date.. During both the First World War and the Second World War, Inchcolm was part of the defences of the Firth of Forth. The Firth of Forth is the estuary of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. It was known as Bodotria in Roman times. 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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