| Dunfermline Abbey | |
|---|---|
 Dunfermline Abbey fromPittencrieff Park | |
  Dunfermline Abbey Location in Scotland | |
| 56°04′12″N3°27′49″W / 56.0699°N 3.4636°W /56.0699; -3.4636 | |
| Location | Dunfermline,Fife |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Church of Scotland |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1128 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Parish Church |
| Architect(s) | William Burn |
| Style | Romanesque[1] |
| Completed | 1250 |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | MaryAnn R. Rennie |
Dunfermline Abbey is aChurch of Scotland parish church inDunfermline,Fife,Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a largemedievalBenedictine abbey, which was confiscated and sacked in 1560 during theScottish Reformation and permitted to fall into disrepair. Part of the old abbey church continued in use at that time and some parts of the abbey infrastructure still remain.
The Benedictine Abbey of theHoly Trinity andSt Margaret, was founded in 1128 byKing David I of Scotland, but the monastic establishment was based on an earlier priory dating back to the reign of his fatherKing Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, i. e. "Malcolm III" or "Malcolm Canmore" (regnat 1058–93), and his queen, St Margaret.[1] At its head was theAbbot of Dunfermline, the first of which wasGeoffrey of Canterbury, formerPrior ofChrist Church, Canterbury, the Kent monastery that probably supplied Dunfermline's first monks. At the peak of its power it controlled four burghs, three courts ofregality, and a large portfolio of lands fromMoray in the north south toBerwickshire.[2]
In the decades after its foundation the abbey was the recipient of considerable endowments, as seen from the dedication of 26 altars donated by individual benefactors andguilds where private masses for those benefactors would have been said. The abbey was an important destination for pilgrims because it hosted the reliquary shrine and cult of Saint Margaret from whom the abbey later claimed foundation and for which an earlier foundation charter was fabricated.[3]The foundations of the earliest church, namely the Church of the Holy Trinity, are under the superbRomanesque nave built in the 12th century.
During the winter of 1303 the court ofEdward I of England was held in the abbey, and on his departure the following year most of the buildings were burned.[3]
During theScottish Reformation, the stolen abbey church experienced a firstProtestant 'cleansing' by September 1559, and was sacked in March 1560. By September 1563 thechoir and feretory chapel were roofless, and it was said that the nave was also in a sorry state, with the walls so extensively damaged that it was a danger to enter.[4] Some parts of the abbey infrastructure still remain, principally the vast refectory and rooms over the gatehouse which was part of the former city wall. The nave was also spared and it was repaired in 1570 byRobert Drummond of Carnock. In 1672 parts of the east end collapsed, while in 1716 part of the central tower is said to have fallen, presumably destabilising much that still stood around its base, and the east gable tumbled in 1726. The final collapse of the central tower took place in 1753.[4][5]
The nave served as the parish church till the 19th century, and now forms the vestibule of a new church. This edifice, in the Perpendicular style, opened for public worship in 1821, occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts, though differing in style and proportions from the original structure. Also of the monastery there still remains the south wall of the refectory, with a fine window. Next to the abbey is the ruin ofDunfermline Palace, also part of the original abbey complex and connected to it via the gatehouse.
Dunfermline Abbey, one ofScotland's most important cultural sites has, afterIona, received more of Scotland's royal dead than any other place in the kingdom. One of the most notable non-royal names to be associated with the abbey is theNorthern Renaissance poet,Robert Henryson. The tomb of Saint Margaret and Malcolm Canmore, within theruined walls of the Lady chapel, was restored and enclosed by command of QueenVictoria.[3]
The current building on the site of the choir of the old abbey church is a parish church of theChurch of Scotland, still with the name Dunfermline Abbey. The minister (since 2012[update]) is the Reverend MaryAnn R. Rennie.
The old building was a fine example of simple and massiveRomanesque, as the nave testifies, and has a beautiful doorway in its west front.Alexander I had the two towers built which flanked the great western entrance.[6]
Another rich Romanesque doorway was exposed in the south wall in 1903, when masons were cutting a site for thememorial to the soldiers who had fallen in theSecond Boer War. A new site was found for this monument in order that the ancient and beautiful entrance might be preserved. The venerable structure is maintained publicly, and private munificence has provided several stained-glass windows. The architecture of theAfghan Church inMumbai in India (dedicated to St John the Baptist) references the door and the right side of the church of Dunfermline Abbey.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dunfermline".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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