Saddell Abbey is a ruined

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery located in western

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The abbey was established in 1160 by

Somerled Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...

, Lord of

Kintyre Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...

, who was killed in 1164. The abbey was completed by his son,

Ragnall Ragnall is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 102, increasing to 146 at the 2011 census (with Fledborough), and falling to 88 for the 2021 census. It is located on ...

, a few years later. The original layout of the abbey included a church and three adjoining buildings grouped around a cloister. Saddell Abbey is widely known for its important collection of life-sized stone carvings and burial slabs that were constructed from the 14th to the 16th centuries.

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

established the site as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

in 1975.

Location

Saddell Abbey is located eight miles north of

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port. The 2018 populatio ...

, on the east coast of Kintyre, Scotland. The building ruins sit on a bluff overlooking "the confluence of Saddell Water and Allt nam Manach", (''Water of the Monks''). To get to the site, take the B842 up the coast from Campbeltown toward Carradale to the small village of Saddell. A signpost gives directions to the car park for Saddell Abbey.

Description

Saddell Abbey originally consisted of a church and three adjoining buildings grouped around a

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

. The church consisted of an aisleless nave and choir and north and south transepts laid out in the cruciform style. The northern transept of the church is thought to have been reconstructed in the 13th century and the chancel was probably remodeled at a later date. The abbey was abandoned by the late 15th century. Most of the buildings survived until the 16th century when they were dismantled and used elsewhere on the Saddell Castle estate. Little remains of the original abbey structures. An assemblage of stone walls surrounded by a burial ground represent the north transept and nave of the original church. Still standing is a section of low stone walls which originally was part of the refectory and undercroft. The masonry that survives was constructed out of random rubble laid in

lime mortar Lime mortar or torching is a masonry mortar (masonry), mortar composed of lime (material), lime and an construction aggregate, aggregate such as sand, mixed with water. It is one of the oldest known types of mortar, used in ancient Rome and anci ...

. There is a holy well at the site with an early 19th century stone drinking basin embellished with a Latin cross. Saddell Abbey is widely known for its important collection of life-sized stone carvings and burial slabs. Several of the 14th to 16th century stone carvings, including a cross, six grave slabs and five effigies, are on display under a special shelter at the entrance to the abbey site. Other slabs are located outside the ruined walls of the church, and include several late 17th century recumbent stones. It is believed that the effigies were constructed on the island of

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

and brought to the abbey, while the remaining carvings were made by skilled stone craftsmen on site.

History

The abbey was established as a House of Cistercian Monks by Norse nobleman, Somerled, Lord of Kintyre. The abbey was dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Somerled established the abbey in 1160, but was killed in 1164 in the Battle of Renfrew. Somerled's son,

, succeeded his father as Lordy of Kintyre and completed the construction of the abbey. He is also referred to as the abbey's founder. The abbey was abandoned around 1470 when

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

forfeited the Lordship of the Isles and its lands to the Bishopric of Argyll. Somerled's descendants, the MacDonalds,

Lords of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was ...

, continued to be patrons of Saddell abbey for many years. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1975.

References

Bibliography

* Ian B. Cowan and David E. Easson, ''Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man'', Second Edition, (London, 1976), pp. 77–8 * D.E.R. Watt and N.F. Shead, (eds.), ''The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries'', The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24, (Edinburgh, 2001), pp. 186–7

External links