History

The historic abbeys of Dumfries and Galloway, now in the care of Historic Scotland, date back to the 12th and 13th Centuries. The abbeys;  Dundrennan, Glenluce and Sweetheart were established by Cistercian monks.

The monks arrived from Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire, founding Dundrennan Abbey in 1142. It is thought that the same order then went on to establish Glenluce Abbey in 1192 and New Abbey (later re-named Sweetheart) in 1273. The Cistercian order originated in France in 1098 with the white-robed monks following a life of simplicity, poverty and austerity.

Dundrennan Abbey is perhaps best known as the place where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night in Scotland in 1568 before going into exile in England. She was never to return to Scotland and the protection she sought from her cousin Elizabeth I of England instead led to her imprisonment and death in 1587 on charges of treason.

Graves in the grounds of the Abbey hold the names of some of the monks who worshipped at the Abbey. It is known that the monks occupied the Abbey for more than 400 years but little details concerning their daily lives and the Abbey's demise are known.

Sweetheart Abbey

Sweetheart Abbey was built  in memory of Lord John Balliol by his wife Lady Devorgilla of Galloway. Until Devorgilla's death she carried her husband's embalmed heart and was laid to rest on the abbey's altar with the heart. The monks re-named the abbey from New Abbey to 'Dulce Cor' or Sweet Heart as a testament to the love that Devorgilla had for her husband.

Sweetheart Abbey suffered damage before it was even completed thanks to the Wars of Independence with England  from the late 13th to Mid-14th Centuries. The Abbey did undergo repairs under the stewardship of Archibald, Lord of Galloway but was finally left to decay after the Reformation of 1560.

The history surrounding Glenluce Abbey is not as well documented as Dundrennan or Sweetheart. It seems the Cistercian monks settled here after Roland, Lord of Galloway founded the Abbey nearing the end of the 12th Century. The monks remained in the Abbey after the Reformation of 1560 and it seems they adapted to the new religious way of life. By the late 16th Century it seems the remaining monks had died or left and the Abbey was no longer a place of worship.

Dundrennan, Glenluce and Sweetheart Abbey are open to the public under the care of Historic Scotland.