Lying, as the abbey did, in the path of the invaders from the South, it received many unfriendly visits, and suffered much at the hands of
Fig. 411.—Dryburgh Abbey. East Side of Monastic Buildings.
the English. In 1322 the monastery received a destructive visit from Edward II. on his return from an unsuccessful invasion of Scotland. His army camped in the grounds of the abbey, and next morning set it on fire, when great damage was done. Large contributions were received from Robert I. for the repairs of the damage thus caused.
The buildings were again destroyed, in 1385, by Richard II. on his retreat from Scotland, on which occasion he likewise burnt the abbeys of Melrose and Newbotle. In 1544 the edifice once more suffered at the hands of Lord Eure, when the fittings were carried off.
The abbacy was held in commendam from the beginning of the sixteenth century, and, in 1587, it was annexed to the Crown. Finally, it was erected into a temporal barony, with the title of Lord Cardross, in favour of the Earl of Mar, from whom it has passed, by purchase, through the hands of several proprietors.[196]
The monastery ([Fig. 410]) has consisted of the usual buildings surrounding the cloister, having the church on the north side, standing about ten steps above the level of the cloister garth. The sacristy, chapter house, fratery, and other apartments stretch from the transept southwards along the east side; and above these, on the upper floor, were the dormitories, entering by an open staircase from the south transept, in a similar manner to the dormitories at Pluscardine, Melrose, &c. Along the south side of the cloisters lay the refectory, which, owing to the slope of the ground, was raised on a basement floor of vaulted cellars. On the west side of the cloister garth there are now only a few vaulted cellars. A small stream runs along on the south-west side of the monastic buildings, and beyond the stream are the remains of what seems to have been a detached chapel.
The oldest portions of the structure are those forming the eastern range ([Fig. 411]), which, from their style of architecture, are evidently of transition date, or about the beginning of the thirteenth century. The sacristy is 28 feet long by 13 feet wide. It has a stone bench round the walls and three steps in the floor. There is a door from the transept and an outer semicircular-headed doorway of transition character from the cloister ([Fig. 412.]) Access is also obtained by a small door in the north side to a wheel-stair leading to the upper floors, and visible as a projecting turret at the south-east angle of the transept (see [Fig. 412.]).
The east window of the sacristy is remarkable, having two round-headed windows, surmounted by a visica-formed aperture (see [Fig. 411.]).