Vaulted ceiling of the belltower of Cambuskenneth Abbey
Cambuskenneth Abbey sits within a broad loop of the River Forth to the east of Stirling after King David I asked the Augustinians to found an abbey here in 1140. Originally known as the Abbey of St Mary or the Abbey of Stirling, the Abbey gathered wealth and influence from its royal patronage and links with Stirling Castle. At its height Cambuskenneth comprised a complex of a large abbey church and a cloister surrounded by ranges of domestic buildings. Between the cloister and the river to the east stood secondary ranges of buildings and a wharf. In its day the abbey was a famous house of Augustinian canons and the scene of Robert Bruce’s Parliament in 1326. The abbey suffered during the Wars of Independence from the end of the 1200s. By 1378 the abbey church was reported to be in ruins but was rebuilt during the early 1400s and once again used by Scotland's royalty. On 11 June 1488 the nearby Battle of Sauchieburn took place between James III's army and supporters of his 15 year old son, James, Duke of Rothesay. James III fled before the battle commenced but was subsequently murdered by an unknown hand. His body was brought to Cambuskenneth Abbey where he was buried in front of the high altar of the abbey church alongside his Queen, Margaret of Denmark - who had died in 1486. After the Reformation the abbey became a quarry for stone reused in various parts of Stirling itself. Very little was left by the time the site was excavated by William Mackison, the Stirling Burgh Architect, in 1864 after which the bell tower "harshly" restored.
Size: 3600px × 5400px
Location: Cambuskenneth Stirling Scotland UK United Kingdom GB Great Britain Europe
Photo credit: © Gus Nicoll / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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