« Back to Perthshire, Angus & Dundee listings

Arbroath Abbey (HS)

Arbroath

This great red sandstone abbey was founded in 1178 by William the Lion, King of Scots. He was buried here before the high altar in 1214.The abbey is perhaps best known as the place where a group of Scottish barons signed the Declaration of Arbroath. In this document they asked the Pope to recognise Robert the Bruce as King of a Scottish nation independent from England.Lavishly endowed with extensive lands, fisheries and salt pans the abbey was once exceptionally wealthy. After the Reformation in 1560 the Abbey Church, cloisters, refectory and infirmary fell into disrepair and were used as a source of stone for local house building. Only the abbot's house survived intact.