Arbroath Abbey - Angus, Scotland
Posted by: 
creg-ny-baa
N 56° 33.743 W 002° 35.013
30V E 525594 N 6268751
Preserved ruins of the red sandstone Arbroath Abbey in the Angus coastal town, founded by William the Lion in 1178.
Waymark Code: WM15WC9
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/08/2022
Views: 2
Arbroath is a town in the county of Angus on the east coast of Scotland. Formerly Aberbrothock, its abbey was founded in 1178 by William I, also known as William the Lion, as a memorial to Thomas Becket. Tironesian monks from Kelso Abbey inhabited the building which was consecrated in 1197. William I was buried in the high alter in 1214, and the Scottish Declaration of Independence was signed at the abbey in 1320.
The abbey was built over sixty years of local red sandstone in an early English style with a late Norman western front featuring twin towers. The building was cruciform in plan measuring 276 feet long and 160 feet wide. There would have been a central tower with a spire. The main features were a presbytery, monk's choir, two transepts, chapel aisles, and a nine bay nave. Domestic buildings were grouped in a small cloister on the south side. An Abbot's House and gatehouse lay to the west.
After the Protestant reformation in 1560 the abbey quickly fell into decline and was begun to be dismantled by 1580, mostly to build a new burgh church. By 1700 it was in a ruinous state and steps were taken in 1815 to preserve the remains of the structure.
The surviving parts of the building were the presbytery, sacristy, south transept, and parts of the west front, along with the Abbot's House. The most notable feature of the abbey remaining, the round O in the south transept, was repaired by Robert Stevenson in 1809, and serves as a landmark for shipping out in the North Sea.
The abbey ruins lie to the north of the town centre with most of the interior given over to the town's graveyard. A visitor centre lies on the northern side.