Crossraguel Abbey

Crossraguel Abbey stands silent and ruined today, but it was home to monks from the Cluniac order, named after the French abbey of Cluny, for over four centuries.

Founded by the future Earl of Carrick in the early 1200s, Crossraguel Abbey was the second Cluanic monastery in Scotland, alongside Paisley. It was meant as a place for the Opus Dei or ‘Work of God’ but the brethren were beset by troubles.

In the early years, an argument raged between Paisley and Crossraguel over the latter's independence. Paisley fought hard to cling on to the churches and to other endowments granted to Crossraguel. Crossraguel probably didn’t function properly until the late 1200s as a result.

Then came the Wars of Independence with England. Robert the Bruce was by this time Earl of Carrick. Crossraguel’s monks were loyal to their new patron throughout the conflict, causing the abbey to be targeted and severely damaged.

The abbey church and cloister that visitors see today date mostly from the 1300s and 1400s. Just about the only surviving fragment from the 1200s is the south wall of the nave.

Among the abbey’s best features are its choir, a 15th-century masterpiece with an elegant polygonal apse and fine decorative details such as the sedilia (priests' seats). There is an intact and impressive 15th-century chapter house in the cloister, along with the sizeable remains of an early 1500s tower house and an imposing gatehouse.

The doocot also survives, Pigeons lived here, and their eggs and young (known as peavers) were used for food. Droppings became fertiliser for the abbey gardens. Peavers were considered a great delicacy. The birds were collected at only a few weeks old, making for very tender meat. Pigeons lay year round, so eggs were available even in the lean winter months.