Kelso Abbey
Although not technically a property of
the Gordon’s, between 1150 and 1160
Richard de Gordon granted lands to the
monks of Kelso. His son Sir Thomas de
Gordon, confirmed by charter these
donations, and his son and successor,
also Thomas, made additional grants, as
well to the religious order of Coldstream.
These donations allowed the Gordons to
be buried on the grounds.
Built in 1128 and the years following,
Kelso Abbey was one of the finest
examples of Romanesque architecture.
Finally finished, it was dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin and St John in 1243. It
was soon one of the largest and richest
in Scotland, having a superb library in
medieval times. In the 12th and 13th
centuries, the Abbot of Kelso was
granted the right to wear a mitre, which
gave him precedence higher than any
other Scottish abbot. The abbey's wealth
came from its vast lands, its churches, schools, farms and its granges in the Cheviot
Hills.
Two kings, James III and James IV, were crowned in the Abbey, and Prince Henry,
son of David I, was buried there in 1152.
With the Reformation, and Henry VIII's determination to wipe out the Border Abbeys,
by 1550 Kelso Abbey along with those at Melrose, Dryburgh and Jedburgh had been
reduced to rubble by the English forces under Hertford. Despite attempts at
rebuilding, all the abbeys went into decline, and soon few, if any, monks remained. A
Parish Church used part of the site about 1650 with a new school alongside. This
seems to have continued in use until about 1770, with the abbey ruins being used
as a source of ready-hewn stone for buildings elsewhere in the town. In 1823, the
remains of the Abbey were made safe, and in 1919 they passed into the care of the
National Trust.
