Jedburgh Abbey

Located within Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, Jedburgh Abbey was founded as a priory in 1138 on the site of a previous church by King David I for Augustinian canons who came here from the Abbey of St. Quentin, Beauvais, in France. Jedburgh was raised to the status of an abbey in 1154, becoming one of the four great Border abbeys which include Dryburgh Abbey, Melrose Abbey and Kelso Abbey. Jedburgh was fought over during the Wars of Independence in the early 14th C., forcing the resident canons to leave when it was burned and plundered by an English army under Sir Richard Hastings. Fighting continued sporadically through the 15th and 16th Centuries, with the abbey's fate finally sealed with the Reformation in 1560s. Much of the abbey is now in a ruined condition although the tracery of the great rose window on the western front is still visible and the abbey church of St. Mary the Virgin stands almost complete, having been used for church services until 1875. The Lothian Aisle is the burial place of the Kerrs of Cessford, who became the Marquesses of Lothian. Schomberg Henry Kerr, the 9th Marquis (1833 - 1900), commissioned the architect Robert Rowand Anderson (1834 - 1921) to undertake a restoration. The abbey was taken into state guardianship in 1913 and is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.


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