The substantial remains of the abbey can be found in the village of New Abbey south of Dumfries.
The story of the founding of Sweetheart Abbey is held to be a testament to the enduring power of love. On 10 April 1273 Lady Devorgilla signed a charter establishing a new Cistercian abbey here in memory of her husband, John Balliol, who had died four years earlier. While the abbey became known as Sweetheart, the village that grew to serve it stuck with the original and more straightforward name of New Abbey. The end of Sweetheart Abbey as an active religious community followed the Reformation of 1560, though the impact here was more gradual than almost anywhere else in Scotland. By this time Sweetheart was under the protection of Lord Maxwell, a Catholic. With his help the last Abbot, Gilbert Broun continued to reside at Sweetheart and to practice the unreformed religion in defiance of the new order.
A small bit about it and on to the pictures.
The story of the founding of Sweetheart Abbey is held to be a testament to the enduring power of love. On 10 April 1273 Lady Devorgilla signed a charter establishing a new Cistercian abbey here in memory of her husband, John Balliol, who had died four years earlier. While the abbey became known as Sweetheart, the village that grew to serve it stuck with the original and more straightforward name of New Abbey. The end of Sweetheart Abbey as an active religious community followed the Reformation of 1560, though the impact here was more gradual than almost anywhere else in Scotland. By this time Sweetheart was under the protection of Lord Maxwell, a Catholic. With his help the last Abbot, Gilbert Broun continued to reside at Sweetheart and to practice the unreformed religion in defiance of the new order.
A small bit about it and on to the pictures.
