Inchmahome Priory is situated on Inchmahome, the largest of three islands in the centre of the Lake of Menteith, close to Aberfoyle, Scotland.
The name "Inchmahome" comes from the Gaelic Innis MoCholmaig, meaning island of St Colmaig.
The priory was founded in 1238 by the Earl of Menteith, Walter Comyn, for a small group of members of the Augustinian order (the Black Canons). The Comyn family were one of the most powerful in Scotland at the time, and had an imposing country house on Inch Talla, one of the other islands on the Lake of Menteith. There is some evidence that there had been a church on the island before the priory was established.
The priory received many notable guests throughout its history. King Robert the Bruce visited three times: in 1306, 1308 and 1310. His visits were likely politically motivated, as the first prior had sworn allegiance to Edward I, the English king. In 1358, the future King Robert II stayed at the priory. In 1547, the priory served as a refuge for Queen Mary, aged four, hidden there for a few weeks following the disastrous defeat of the Scots army at the Battle of Pinkie during the Rough Wooing. [1]
The decline of the monastic orders in the 16th century was hastened when the heads of the abbeys and priories started being appointed by local landowners, who often did not share the religious goals of the monks or ordained priests. In 1547, the office passed to John, Lord Erskine, who later became head of Cambuskenneth and Dryburgh abbeys. After the Scottish Reformation, no new priests were ordained, and religious land and buildings gradually passed into secular hands, inevitably leading to the priory's decline. In 1606, the land and property passed to the Erskine family, and later to the Marquess of Montrose; the 6th Duke of Montrose transferred it into the care of the State in 1926.
The author, socialist and nationalist politician Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham and his wife Gabriela Cunninghame Graham are buried in the ruined chancel of the priory, where there is also a stone commemorating his nephew and heir, Admiral A.E.M.B. Cunninghame Graham.
Although most of the buildings are now ruins, much of the original 13th-century structure remains, and it is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, who maintain and preserve it as a scheduled ancient monument. [2]
The priory can be visited by a boat that is operated between March and September by Historic Scotland, which departs from the nearby pier at the Port of Menteith.
Aberfoyle is a village in the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the council area of Stirling, Scotland. The settlement lies 27 miles northwest of Glasgow.
The Battle of Dunbar was the only significant field action of the campaign of 1296 during the beginning of the First War of Scottish Independence.
Menteith or Monteith, a district of south Perthshire, Scotland, roughly comprises the territory between the Teith and the Forth. Earlier forms of its name include Meneted, Maneteth and Meneteth.
The Stirling council area is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has an estimated population of 92,530 (2022). It was created in 1975 as a lower-tier district within the Central region. The district covered parts of the historic counties of Stirlingshire and Perthshire, which were abolished for local government purposes. In 1996 the Central region was abolished and Stirling Council took over all local government functions within the area.
Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1357). In the latter part of the 14th century, the castle was granted to William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, by his uncle. It remained in the Douglases' hands for the next 300 years. Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned there in 1567–68, and forced to abdicate as queen, before escaping with the help of her gaoler's family. In 1588, the queen's gaoler inherited the title of Earl of Morton, and moved away from the castle. In 1675, Sir William Bruce, an architect, bought the castle and used it as a focal point for his garden; it was never again used as a residence.
Lake of Menteith, also known as Loch Inchmahome, is a loch in Scotland located on the Carse of Stirling.
The Mormaer or Earl of Menteith was the ruler of the province of Menteith in the Middle Ages. The first mormaer is usually regarded as Gille Críst, simply because he is the earliest on record. The title was held in a continuous line from Gille Críst until Muireadhach IV, although the male line was broken on two occasions. A truncated version of the earldom was given two years later to Malise Graham, 1st Earl of Menteith, in compensation for loss of the Earldom of Strathearn, which was a likely result of the execution of the Duke of Albany.
Clan Graham has two main families of Scottish clans, the Grahams of Menteith and the Grahams of Montrose. Each have their own tartan patterns. William Graham became the 7th Earl of Menteith in 1610 in what is now Perthshire, Scotland. The Grahams of Montrose had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands, and the chief of the clan rose to become the Marquess and later Duke of Montrose.
Janet Stewart, Lady Fleming, called la Belle Écossaise, was a Scottish courtier. She was an illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland who served as governess to her half-niece Mary, Queen of Scots. Janet was briefly a mistress of King Henry II of France, by whom she had a legitimated son: Henri d'Angoulême. Her daughter, Mary Fleming, was one of the young queen's "Four Marys".
Inverlochy Castle is a ruined, 13th-century castle near Inverlochy and Fort William, Highland, Scotland. The site of two battles, the castle remains largely unchanged since its construction. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
Inchaffray Abbey was situated by the village of Madderty, midway between Perth and Crieff in Strathearn, Scotland. The only traces now visible are an earth mound and some walls on rising ground which once formed an island where the abbey once stood.
Inchmahome, an anglicisation of Innis Mo Cholmaig, is the largest of three islands in the Lake of Menteith, in Stirlingshire.
The Isle of May Priory was a monastery and community of Benedictine monks established for 9 monks of Reading Abbey on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, in 1153, under the patronage of David I of Scotland. The priory passed into the control of St Andrews Cathedral Priory in the later 13th century, and in 1318 the community relocated to Pittenweem Priory on the Fife coast.
Clement was a 13th-century Dominican friar who was the first member of the Dominican Order in Britain and Ireland to become a bishop. In 1233, he was selected to lead the ailing diocese of Dunblane in Scotland, and faced a struggle to bring the bishopric of Dunblane to financial viability. This involved many negotiations with the powerful religious institutions and secular authorities which had acquired control of the revenue that would normally have been the entitlement of Clement's bishopric. The negotiations proved difficult, forcing Clement to visit the papal court in Rome. While not achieving all of his aims, Clement succeeded in saving the bishopric from relocation to Inchaffray Abbey. He also regained enough revenue to begin work on the new Dunblane Cathedral.
Maurice was a 14th-century Scottish cleric who became Prior of Inchmahome, Abbot of Inchaffray and then Bishop of Dunblane. He was Prior of Inchmahome Priory in Menteith after 1297. He became abbot of Inchaffray Abbey in Strathearn between March 1304 and October 1305. As Abbot of Inchaffray, he held a canonry in the diocese of Dunblane, that is, the precentorship of Dunblane Cathedral. After the death of Nicholas de Balmyle, he was elected to the bishopric of Dunblane. He was consecrated to the see before 23 March 1322, after litigation at the Papal court. King Edward II of England had nominated one Richard de Pontefract to the see, while Roger de Ballinbreich had also been elected by the chapter; both of these men were overlooked by the Pope in Maurice's favour.
Walter Bailloch, also known as Walter Bailloch Stewart, was distinguished by the sobriquet Bailloch or Balloch, a Gaelic nickname roughly translated as "the freckled". He was the Earl of Menteith jure uxoris.
Castle Campbell is a medieval castle situated above the town of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, in central Scotland. It was the lowland seat of the earls and dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell, from the 15th to the 19th century, and was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century. Mary was impressed by this and said "this reminds me of home".
Port of Menteith is a village and civil parish in the Stirling district of Scotland, the only significant settlement on the Lake of Menteith. It was established as a burgh of barony, then named simply Port, in 1457 by King James III of Scotland. It lies in the historic county and Registration County of Perthshire.
William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and statesman, who successfully steered a moderate course through the treacherous waters of mid-16th century Scottish politics.
David Erskine, Commandator of Dryburgh was a Scottish landowner.
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