Dercongal Abbey (or Holywood Abbey) was a
Premonstratensian monastic community located in
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
I ...
, Scotland.
History
The date of its foundation is not known, but it was certainly in existence as a Premonstratensian monastic community by 1225. The founder was presumably
Alan, Lord of Galloway
Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234), also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of S ...
. Dercongal seems to come from ''Doire Congaill'',
Congall's oak-copse, Congall (Welsh, ''Cinvall'') being a saint venerated by the natives of the area. For this reason the abbot of Dercongal also became known as the abbot "de Sacro Nemore" (="of the Holy Wood"), becoming "Holywood" in
English
English usually refers to:
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* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
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.
Saint
Vimin
Saint Vimin (or Gwynnin, Vimianus, Viminus, Vimmin, Vinim, Vivian, Wynnia, Wynnin; died 579) was a Scottish abbot and bishop.
He is said to have founded Holywood Abbey in Fife, Scotland.
However, there are no reliable sources for his life.
His fea ...
(died 579) is said to have founded Holywood Abbey.
Little of its history is known and few of the
abbots of Dercongal names have survived, although a good deal of archaeological remains are extant. The abbey became secularized in the 16th century and in the beginning of the 17th century was turned into a secular lordship. The ruins of the abbey were demolished in the last quarter of the 18th century.
Hewison records that in 1912 a few fragments of the abbey and later hospital survived together with a bell from the old abbey, now located in the replacement parish church bearing the Latin inscription that translates as ''"John Welsh, Abbot of Holywood, caused me to be made in 1505"''. This author also records that the abbey ''Sacrum Nemus'' or Dercongal was built in 1141.
Sir Herbert Maxwell records that Archibald Douglas, 'Archibald the Grim',
Earl of Wigtown
The title of Earl of Wigtown (or Wigton or Wigtoun) was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation was in 1341 for Malcolm Fleming, and was surrendered in 1372, when the second Earl sold the Earldom and territory to Archibal ...
, built a hospital at the Monastery of Holywood in gratitude for his successes, both personal and political. Archibald had previously endowed the establishment with the lands of Crossmichael and Troqueer in the Stewartry. Maxwell regards the Abbey of Holywood (Abbacia Sancti Nemoris) as being founded by
Devorgilla, daughter of
Alan, Lord of Galloway
Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234), also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of S ...
and mother of
King John Balliol.
Grose records that a fine Gothic arch supported the oak roof and under the floor were a number of sepulchral vaults. Also stated is that the renowned medieval scholar and astronomer
Johannes de Sacrobosco
Johannes de Sacrobosco, also written Ioannes de Sacro Bosco, later called John of Holywood or John of Holybush ( 1195 – 1256), was a scholar, monk, and astronomer who taught at the University of Paris.
He wrote a short introduction to the Hi ...
was once a monk at the abbey.
The RCAHMS records that in 1362 almshouses for men were set up within the abbey precincts and that in 1609 the temporal Barony of Holywood was established.
See also
*
Abbot of Dercongal
The Abbot of Dercongal or Abbot of Holywood (later Commendator of Holywood) was the head of the Premonstratensian monastic community of Dercongal Abbey (or Holywood Abbey as it was later called). The history of the abbots of the house is obscure a ...
References
Bibliography
* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., ''Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland
With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man'', Second Edition, (London, 1976), p. 102.
* Grose, Francis (1797). The Antiquities of Scotland. High Holborn : Hooper and Wigstead. V. 2., p. 170.
* Hewison, James K. (1912). Cambridge County Geographies Dumfrieshire. Cambridge University Press, p. 106.
* Maxwell, Sir Herbert (1896). ''A History of Dumfries and Galloway''. Edinburgh & London : William Blackwood and Sons, p. 118.
* Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Canmore Website - Holywood Abbey.
*
Watson, W.J., ''The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland'', (Edinburgh, 1926) reprinted, with an Introduction, full Watson bibliography and corrigenda by Simon Taylor (Edinburgh, 2004), p. 169
* Watt, D.E.R. & Shead, N.F. (eds.), ''The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries'', The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24, (Edinburgh, 2001), pp. 97–9
External links
DFSGal, Holywood AbbeyVideo footage of Holywood Abbey
{{coord, 55.102, -3.639, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
History of Dumfriesshire
Premonstratensian monasteries in Scotland
Christian monasteries established in the 13th century
13th century in Scotland
Monasteries dissolved under the Scottish Reformation
Former Christian monasteries in Scotland