The Abbot of Crossraguel was the leader of the Cluniac monastic community of Crossraguel Abbey

Crossraguel Abbey

The Abbey of Saint Mary of Crossraguel is a ruin of a former abbey near the town of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland.-Foundation:Founded in 1244 by Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick, following an earlier donation of 1225, to the monks of Paisley Abbey for that purpose. They reputedly built nothing more...

, near Maybole

Maybole

Maybole is a burgh of barony and police burgh of South Ayrshire, Scotland. Pop. 4,552. It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. ‎...

 in Carrick

Carrick, Scotland

Carrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...

, south-west Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It was founded in 1260s by Donnchadh mac Gille Brigte

Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick

Donnchadh was a Gall-Gaidhil prince and Scottish magnate in what is now south-western Scotland, whose career stretched from the last quarter of the 12th century until his death in 1250...

, earl of Carrick

Earl of Carrick

The Earl of Carrick was the head of a comital lordship of Carrick in southwestern Scotland. The title emerged in 1186, when Donnchad, son of Gille Brigte, Lord of Galloway, became Mormaer or Earl of Carrick in compensation for exclusion from the whole Lordship of Galloway...

 with monks from Paisley Abbey

Paisley Abbey

Paisley Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery, and current Church of Scotland parish kirk, located on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, in west central Scotland.-History:...

. Owing to the lack of surviving records and its distance from the core of Lowland Scotland in the western Gàidhealtachd

Gàidhealtachd

The Gàidhealtachd , sometimes known as A' Ghàidhealtachd , usually refers to the Scottish highlands and islands, and especially the Scottish Gaelic culture of the area. The corresponding Irish word Gaeltacht however refers strictly to an Irish speaking area...

, few of the abbots are known by name. The abbots were replaced by commendators in the 16th century, and the abbey came to an end when its lands were taken over by the bishops of Dunblane

Bishop of Dunblane

The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane/Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland. The bishopric itself certainly derives from an older...

 in 1617. The following is a list of abbots and commendators:

List of known abbots

• Patrick, 1274 x 1292
• Nicholas, 1370-1386 x 1400
• nearly a century without a known abbot
• Roger, fl. 1370
• Roland, 1414-1433
• John de Lithgow, 1414-1415
• Colin Kennedy, 1460-1490
• Robert Whitehead, 1491-1492
• David Blair (Blane), 1498-1504
• David Kinghorn, 1509-1521
• William Kennedy, 1520-1547
• Quintin Kennedy, 1548-1564
• Peter Hewat, 1612 Around 1600 King James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) was set on reducing the power of the church and he met with the Earl of Gowrie at Gowrie House in Perth, Scotland. The king claimed he was lured to the house to be killed – a treasonable offence – However the Gowrie connections claim the king owed Gowrie a large sum of money and the king wanted rid of Gowrie. The result of the meeting was that Gowrie and his brother were slain by the king’s page. The king’s story was not believed by the clergy and they refused to endorse the charges of treason against the late Earl of Gowrie and his brother. All the clergy, except for Peter Hewat, who sided with the king, were dismissed. It seemed that this stance gained Peter favour with the king, who in 1612 gave him the Abbacy at Crossraguel which in turn gave him a seat in the Parliament and membership of the Court of High Commission.

List of pensioners and commendators

• George Buchanan
  George Buchanan
  George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...
  
  (pensioner), 1564-1577
• Alan Stewart (commendator/abbot), 1565-1587
• John Vaus of Barnbarroch (commendator), 1587-1612
• Peter Hewatt (commendator), 1628