Saddell Abbey is a ruined

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, 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 B ...

monastery located in western

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. 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 ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) 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 and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately nor ...

, 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. It is located on the A57 road one mile west of the River Trent. The parish chur ...

, 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) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) 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 mer ...

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 and ...

in 1975.

Location

Saddell Abbey is located eight miles north of

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain 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 ...

, 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 Carradale ( gd, Càradal, ) is a village on the east side of Kintyre, overlooking the Kilbrannan Sound and the west coast of the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, approximately from Campbeltown. To the north of Carradale is the coastal pea ...

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 ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

. 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. 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 (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though ther ...

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; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. Somerled established the abbey in 1160, but was killed in 1164 in the

Battle of Renfrew The Battle of Renfrew was fought between the Kingdom of the Isles and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1164, near Renfrew, Scotland. The men of the Isles, accompanied by forces from the Kingdom of Dublin, were commanded by Somairle mac Gilla Brigt ...

. 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 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 III, at the Battle of Sau ...

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

Lords of the Isles The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title w ...

, 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