These generals of Henry VIII. had evidently cast their eyes on it as
Fig. 376.—Jedburgh Abbey. South Doorway of Nave.
an obstacle in their path, and resolved to get rid of it. The abbey was pillaged and burnt by both (by the first in 1544 and the last in 1545), and never recovered from the devastation it then suffered.
In 1559 the monastery was suppressed, and the revenues went to the Crown. In 1574-5 the roof of the refectory was removed, and the timber used for repairing the tower. The Abbey Church stood in a ruinous state till the nave was partly roofed in at the triforium level to form a presbyterian place of worship. It remained in this condition till 1875, when a new church was erected, and the old abbey was cleared out.
The crown arch of the tower fell in 1743. The groined arches of the aisles continued in existence till the end of last century. In 1793 the south aisle was removed, and a wall built between the pillars to make the church more comfortable.
The ruins of the abbey are now well cared for and protected.
KINLOSS ABBEY, Morayshire.
This was one of the monastic establishments founded in Moray by David I. in order to extend the benefits of civilisation to the remoter regions under his sway.[191] The story told with reference to this foundation is similar to the legend regarding Holyrood. The king had lost his way in the wood while hunting, and was guided by a deer to an open place, where, as was afterwards revealed to him by the Virgin, he was to found a church in her honour. The abbey was founded in 1150, and colonised by King David’s favourite order of Cistercians from Melrose. It was endowed with lands by its founder, and subsequently received grants from his successors—Malcolm, William the Lion, and Alexander II.—as well as from private donors. Robert I. presented the abbey with fishings. Edward I. and Edward III. both visited Kinloss, the former in 1303 and the latter in 1336.