Newbattle Abbey
Encyclopedia
Newbattle
Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian
, Scotland
, which has subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution.
. The patron was King David I of Scotland
(with his son Henry). Its church was dedicated in 1234. The abbey was burned by English royal forces in 1385 and once more in 1544. It became a secular lordship for the last commendator, Mark Kerr
(Ker) in 1587.
Newbattle Abbey was a filiation
of Melrose Abbey
(itself a daughter of the Rievaulx Abbey
) and was situated, according to Cistercian usages, in a beautiful valley along the River South Esk
. Rudolph, its first abbot, a strict and severe observer of the rule, devoted himself energetically to the erection of proper buildings. The church, cruciform in shape, was two hundred and forty feet in length, and the other buildings in proportion; for the community numbered at one period as many as eighty monks and seventy lay-brothers.
The abbey soon became prosperous, and famous for the regularity of its members, several of whom became well-known bishops. It was especially dear to the kings of Scotland, scarcely one of whom failed to visit it from time to time, and they were always its generous benefactors.
One of the principal sources of income was the coal mines
in its possession, for these monks were among the first, if not the first, coal miners in Scotland. The earliest mention of coal in Scotland is to be found in a charter of an Earl of Winchester
, granting to them a coal mine. In 1526 King James V granted them a petition to erect a harbour, and it is from this date that Aitchison's Haven Lodge was established as a stonemasons lodge.
Newbattle suffered much from English incursions at various times, particularly in 1385, when the monastery and church were burned, and the religious either carried away, or forced to flee to other monasteries; it required forty years to repair these losses. A part of the monastery was again destroyed by the Earl of Hertford, but the destruction seems to have been chiefly confined to the church.
At the time of the Reformation
but few of the monks remained, and these were pensioned by the commendator, Mark Kerr. Kerr made a timely conversion to Protestantism and was able to retain the lands around the abbey. His son, also Mark
, became Lord Newbattle in 1596 and Earl of Lothian in 1606.
undercroft intact.
The house was modified and rebuilt successively by John Mylne
in 1650, William Burn
in 1836 and David Bryce
in 1858. The drawing room represents one of Scotland's greatest rooms, decorated by Thomas Bonnar around 1870. The 19th century Chapel was created in a vaulted undercroft that may date from the original abbey buildings. The chapel includes a 16th century font and a fine parquet floor, made using wood from the estate in the style of original tile-work. The library is oak-lined and features a 17th century moulded ceiling. The gardens to the rear of the house includes a pair of large octagonal 17th century sundials. The main abbey remains lie buried to the west and north of the original house.
King George IV
visited during his Scottish tour of 1822
and the King's Gate was built in his honour.
, to be used as a College of Education.
The College was established under trustees from the four ancient Scottish Universities
specifically for adults returning to education. New residential building was added in the 1960s and funding came through the Scottish Education Department.
In 1987 the Secretary of State for Scotland
announced the intention to withdraw funding, threatening the college with closure. However, new forms of financial support have enabled the College to survive.
Newbattle
Newbattle is a village in Midlothian, in the ancient Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Andrews, about seven miles from Edinburgh. There was an abbey there founded about 1140, being the second of the six Cistercian Monasteries established by King David I of Scotland.-Newbattle Abbey:Newbattle Abbey was...
Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
, 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...
, which has subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution.
Monastery
It was founded in 1140 by monks from Melrose AbbeyMelrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey is a Gothic-style abbey in Melrose, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks, on the request of King David I of Scotland. It was headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Scotland...
. The patron was King David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
(with his son Henry). Its church was dedicated in 1234. The abbey was burned by English royal forces in 1385 and once more in 1544. It became a secular lordship for the last commendator, Mark Kerr
Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian
Mark Kerr , 1st Earl of Lothian was a Scottish nobleman and politician.He was the son of Mark Kerr, abbot of Newbattle, Midlothian, and the sister of the Earl of Rothes. Mark was Vicar of Linton in 1567...
(Ker) in 1587.
Newbattle Abbey was a filiation
Filiation
Filiation is the legal term that refers to the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec:...
of Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey is a Gothic-style abbey in Melrose, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks, on the request of King David I of Scotland. It was headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Scotland...
(itself a daughter of the Rievaulx Abbey
Rievaulx Abbey
Rievaulx Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey headed by the Abbot of Rievaulx. It is located in Rievaulx , near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, England.It was one of the wealthiest abbeys in England and was dissolved by Henry VIII of England in 1538...
) and was situated, according to Cistercian usages, in a beautiful valley along the River South Esk
River Esk, Lothian
The River Esk is a river which flows through Midlothian and East Lothian, Scotland.It initially runs as two separate rivers, the North Esk and the South Esk....
. Rudolph, its first abbot, a strict and severe observer of the rule, devoted himself energetically to the erection of proper buildings. The church, cruciform in shape, was two hundred and forty feet in length, and the other buildings in proportion; for the community numbered at one period as many as eighty monks and seventy lay-brothers.
The abbey soon became prosperous, and famous for the regularity of its members, several of whom became well-known bishops. It was especially dear to the kings of Scotland, scarcely one of whom failed to visit it from time to time, and they were always its generous benefactors.
One of the principal sources of income was the coal mines
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in its possession, for these monks were among the first, if not the first, coal miners in Scotland. The earliest mention of coal in Scotland is to be found in a charter of an Earl of Winchester
Earl of Winchester
Earl of Winchester was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England during the Middle Ages. The first was Saer de Quincy, who received the earldom in 1207/8 after his wife inherited half of the lands of the Beaumont earls of Leicester. This creation became extinct in 1265 upon the...
, granting to them a coal mine. In 1526 King James V granted them a petition to erect a harbour, and it is from this date that Aitchison's Haven Lodge was established as a stonemasons lodge.
Newbattle suffered much from English incursions at various times, particularly in 1385, when the monastery and church were burned, and the religious either carried away, or forced to flee to other monasteries; it required forty years to repair these losses. A part of the monastery was again destroyed by the Earl of Hertford, but the destruction seems to have been chiefly confined to the church.
At the time of the Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
but few of the monks remained, and these were pensioned by the commendator, Mark Kerr. Kerr made a timely conversion to Protestantism and was able to retain the lands around the abbey. His son, also Mark
Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian
Mark Kerr , 1st Earl of Lothian was a Scottish nobleman and politician.He was the son of Mark Kerr, abbot of Newbattle, Midlothian, and the sister of the Earl of Rothes. Mark was Vicar of Linton in 1567...
, became Lord Newbattle in 1596 and Earl of Lothian in 1606.
Stately Home
Part of the abbey was converted into a house which survives at the core of the current building. The house incorporates part of the south end of the monastic range, with the dorterDormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
undercroft intact.
The house was modified and rebuilt successively by John Mylne
John Mylne (1611-1667)
John Mylne , sometimes known as "John Mylne junior", or "the Younger", was a Scottish master mason and architect, who served as Master Mason to the Crown of Scotland. Born in Perth, he was the son of John Mylne, master mason, and Isobel Wilson.Practising as a stonemason, he also took on the role of...
in 1650, William Burn
William Burn
William Burn was a Scottish architect, pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of architect Robert Burn, and educated at the Royal High School. After training with the architect of the British Museum, Sir Robert Smirke, he returned to Edinburgh in 1812...
in 1836 and David Bryce
David Bryce
David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA was a Scottish architect. Born in Edinburgh, he was educated at the Royal High School and joined the office of architect William Burn in 1825, aged 22. By 1841, Bryce had risen to be Burn's partner...
in 1858. The drawing room represents one of Scotland's greatest rooms, decorated by Thomas Bonnar around 1870. The 19th century Chapel was created in a vaulted undercroft that may date from the original abbey buildings. The chapel includes a 16th century font and a fine parquet floor, made using wood from the estate in the style of original tile-work. The library is oak-lined and features a 17th century moulded ceiling. The gardens to the rear of the house includes a pair of large octagonal 17th century sundials. The main abbey remains lie buried to the west and north of the original house.
King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
visited during his Scottish tour of 1822
Visit of King George IV to Scotland
The 1822 visit of King George IV to Scotland was the first visit of a reigning monarch to Scotland since 1650. Government ministers had pressed the King to bring forward a proposed visit to Scotland, to divert him from diplomatic intrigue at the Congress of Verona.The visit increased his popularity...
and the King's Gate was built in his honour.
College
Newbattle Abbey remained the home of the Marquesses of Lothian until being given to the nation in the 1937 by Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of LothianPhilip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian
Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian KT CH PC was a British politician and diplomat.Philip Kerr was the son of Lord Ralph Drury Kerr, the third son of John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian...
, to be used as a College of Education.
The College was established under trustees from the four ancient Scottish Universities
Ancient university governance in Scotland
The ancient university governance structure in Scotland is the organisational system imposed by the Universities Acts, a series of Acts of Parliament enacted between 1858 and 1966. The Acts applied to what were termed the 'older universities': the University of St Andrews, the University of...
specifically for adults returning to education. New residential building was added in the 1960s and funding came through the Scottish Education Department.
In 1987 the Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
announced the intention to withdraw funding, threatening the college with closure. However, new forms of financial support have enabled the College to survive.
See also
- Abbot of NewbattleAbbot of NewbattleThe Abbot of Newbattle was the head of the Cistercian monastic community of Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian. It was founded by David I of Scotland in 1140.-List of abbots:* Radulf, 1140-1147x1150* Amfrid, 1159-1179...
, for a list of abbots and commendators