Information AboutKelso Abbey |
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Kelso Abbey is a Scottish Abbey built in the 12th Century by a community of Tironensian monks (originally from Tiron , near Chartres , in France ) who had moved from the nearby Selkirk Abbey . The monks constructed the Abbey on land granted to them by King David I . The construction commenced in 1128 , and when completed fifteen years later, in 1143 , it was dedicated to The Blessed Virgin and Saint John . Kelso Abbey soon grew to be one of the wealthiest and grandest in Scotland , with much of its income coming from its vast estates in the Border Country . The importance of the Abbey at that time was shown when King James III of Scotland was crowned at the Abbey in 1460 . However, the Abbey's close proximity to the border with England led to it suffering damage from cross-border raids. It was first damaged in the Anglo-Scottish Wars at the start of the 1300s , but was later repaired by the monks. The Abbey suffered serious damage during the Earl Of Hertford 's "Rough Wooing" campaign (the dispute over Mary Queen Of Scots ) against Scotland between 1544 and 1547 , which caused considerable destruction to many of southern Scotland's abbeys, including those at Melrose , Dryburgh and Jedburgh . The Reformation , which took place in Scotland in 1560 , meant that Kelso Abbey had no chance to recover and rebuild. After further attacks and damage the Abbey was declared officially derelict in 1587 . After the end of the Reformation, the Abbey was partly used as a Parish Church between 1647 and 1771 , with other parts of the structure being dismantled and used as a source of stone by locals for buildings in the town of Kelso . In 1805 , huge parts of the Ruins were cleared away, leaving just the west tower and its Transept remaining to this day. A more recent addition ( 1933 ) has been a memorial cloister to the 8th Duke Of Roxburghe built in the original style of the cloisters when the Abbey was first built. |
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