by Gordon Ewart
with contributions by S Carter, R Céron Carrasco, N Crowley, A Dunn, H Kenward, C Mills, T O'Sullivan, A Radley, D Rankin, B Will and GeoQuest Associates, and illustrations by D Connolly
ISBN 0-903903-70-9
Published in March 2001 by The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, in association with The Council for British Archaeology and Historic Scotland, in Adobe Acrobat format. Available free of charge (see Terms & Conditions of Use).
Extended report summary
as published in the Transactions of the Dumfriesshire & Galloway Natural History & Antiquarian Society, volume 85, 2001, 159-71.
"These broken arches and tottering columns - these deserted cells and weed-grown aisles - these neglected monuments of belted Knights and mitred Abbots" (Thomson 1845; New Statistical Account of Scotland, 358)ABSTRACT
The remains of the south-west corner of the 12th-century Cistercian abbey cloister at Dundrennan (NGR: NX 7492 4750) were cleared of rubble and 19th-century landscaping infill over four seasons of fieldwork. Elements of the warming house, novices’ day room, south drain and reredorter undercroft were revealed. Coupled with a short programme of geophysical survey and test-trenching beyond the cloisters, new evidence of the sequence of building for this house was revealed by the excavations. The excavations were funded by Historic Scotland. This summary account of the results has been published in the Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, volume 85, 2001, 159-71.
INTRODUCTION [Report Section 2, pages 3-6]The ruins of Dundrennan Abbey lie to the east of Dundrennan village. The village and Abbey occupy the steep-sided valley of the Abbey Burn. Much of the Cloister survives alongside the Abbey Church, although many of the stone buildings have been robbed for local building. However, prior to the excavations, the South Range was virtually hidden, with only the doors to the Refectory, Kitchen, Warming Room etc. visible within an area defined on the south side by a boundary wall, separating the 19th-century Manse from the ruined Abbey.
The Church and Cloister occupy an artificially enhanced terrace to the north and east of a pronounced bend in the Abbey Burn. The site exploited the naturally rising profile of the west side of the valley, on the lowest well-drained area within the valley. The village lies on a terrace up-slope from the Abbey, and indicates the likely extent of the entire Abbey area. The building of the 19th-century Manse saw the clearance of the Abbey ranges towards the south-west of the complex. However, the post-medieval buildings towards this end of the Abbey terrace tend to confirm the viable extent of ground suitable for building, and probably echo closely the limits of the Abbey ancillary structures to the south of the Cloister itself.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO THE ABBEY [Report Section 3, pages 7-8]The Abbey was founded by Fergus, Lord of Galloway in 1142, probably being colonised by monks from Rievaulx in North Yorkshire. Archbishop Malachy, papal legate to Ireland, may well have influenced Fergus to found the House during his visit to Galloway in 1139, but details, as with much of the Abbey's history are obscure. Dundrennan was the mother house of Glenluce and Sweetheart (founded in 1191 and 1273 respectively), and an indication of the mixed fortunes of the Abbey during the 13th century survives in the form of petitions to the English Crown. In 1299 the community applied for compensation from the Edward I after damage inflicted at the start of the Wars of Independence, and later in 1328 for the restoration of Abbey lands in Ireland. Evidence suggests that the community of Brethren was relatively small by the mid 16th century, numbering only a prior and nine monks in 1545. With the appointment of Abbot James Hay to the bishopric of Ross in 1523, the commendatorship was successfully held by a series of primarily lay lords, culminating in 1562 with the appointment of Edward Maxwell, son of Sir John Maxwell of Terregles, 4th Lord Herries. With the Maxwells of the later 16th century, the House at Dundrennan still served as the administrative centre for the old abbey estate ,and was as such still maintained, although some of the buildings are recorded as being in a poor state. Edward Maxwell, a staunch ally and Catholic activist, was in due course able to receive Mary, Queen of Scots in May 1568 at Dundrennan before her departure to England. With the death of Maxwell, the commendatorship passed in 1599 to John Murray, ultimately earl of Annandale, when the Abbey was erected to a temporal lordship in 1606. The Abbey and lands were eventually annexed to the deanery of the Chapel Royal, Stirling in 1621. Part of the Abbey church was used by the parish up until 1742 when it was abandoned, heralding the wholesale demolition and robbing of the Abbey buildings, many of which were already ruinous.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ACCOUNT [Report Section 4, pages 9-36] IntroductionThe results of the excavations indicated 6 periods of construction, occupation and abandonment of a series of claustral structures within the Abbey, from the mid 12th century to the present.
| Period I | c 1170 - 1210 | Colonisation and establishment of full claustral circuit in stone |
| Period II | c 1210 - 1320 | The house at its peak of prosperity - extension and elaboration of Period I buildings. War damage |
| Period III | c 1320 - 1450 | Repairs and conversion due to war damage and reduction in community size |
| Period IV | c 1450 - 1520 | Further conversion for more private accommodation and extra service space |
| Period V | c 1520 - 1600 | Abbey used for storage in association with increasingly secular occupation |
| Period VI | c 1600 - present | Abbey abandoned and ruinous, a focus for antiquarian investigation up to Guardianship period |
The excavations concentrated entirely on the South Range of the Cloister, investigating a series of discrete chambers. These underwent conversion and alteration from the earliest occupation in the 12th century through to abandonment in the late 16th century.
The results of the excavation are presented as an account of the evolution of this series of chambers, and their changing role through the site’s history.
The importance of the establishment of the South Range in stone was twofold:
- to complete the necessary offices for the rigid daily routine of the community
- to complete the complex of Church and Cloister as a single structural edifice
Evidence was revealed for the use of temporary timber buildings during the lengthy construction period for the South Range.
Refectory (Room 11) [Report Sections 4.2.3 & 4.3.1]The Refectory appears originally to have been quite small; the evidence of a surviving 12th-century wall (F024) suggests that the room dimensions were constrained within the overall width of the South Range. It was built on an artificial terrace, had a flagged stone floor, and was accessed from the Cloister via a doorway in the north wall. During the later 13th century (Period II) the Refectory was significantly extended. The remains of the new Refectory were revealed in the early 20th- century by the then Minister, the Rev. Christie. It is likely that remodelling of the Chapter House, with the addition of an elaborate west façade, was completed as part of these improvements, which reflect the increased wealth of the Cistercian Order at this time.
Warming House (Calefactory - Rooms 8, 9, 10, 1, 2 and 3) [Report Sections 4.2.2, 4.3.4, 4.4.1, 4.5.1 & 4.6.1]The Warming House revealed the most complex changes of all excavated structures, from its crucial social and domestic role for the 12th- and 13th-century community (Periods I and II) through to its conversion to individual cells for the last members of the House in the later 16th century (Periods IV & V).
In its earliest form the Warming House lay immediately east of the Refectory, with a prominent fireplace and hearth (F057 & F043) located centrally in the west wall (004). The building measured 6.6m east-west x 7.75m north-south internally, and was accessed from the Cloister via a door towards the north-east corner. By the later 13th century (Period II), the Warming House had been enlarged (in line with the Refectory and Chapter House) to create a new room (Room 9) measuring 9.83m north-south x 6.66m east-west, with a new south wall (F050) and a four-bayed roof, supported on a roughly central octagonal pillar (040).
Following damage inflicted during the Wars of Independence (i.e. during Period III) the Warming House, as with the Reredorter to the east, was again remodelled. The 13th-century Warming House was subdivided by a new cross-wall (F011) creating two smaller rooms - a reduced Warming House (Room 10) and a narrow chamber (Room 3) where the Day Stair was now located. Both rooms 10 and 3 were provided with new doorways leading to the Cloister, with a doorway also provided between them. Traces of plaster within rooms 10 and 3 suggest that their interior walls were rendered. A new window was inserted in the south wall of room 3.
At some time towards the end of the 15th century or early in the 16th century (Period IV), the reduced Warming House (Room 10) was further sub-divided north-south, creating two narrow rooms (Rooms 1 and 2), room 1 measuring 4.76m wide, and room 2 measuring 1.90m in width. These rooms were accessed directly from the Cloister, but were not interconnected internally. This configuration of rooms remained over the final occupation of the Abbey, until its ultimate abandonment (Period VI), with the only addition being earthen banks laid against the long walls of room 1 to receive timber floor joists.
The Novice’s Day Room (Room 4) [Report Sections 4.3.2, 4.3.3 & 4.6.2]The Novice’s Day Room linked the east and south ranges of the Cloister, and was aligned north-south. It was accessed directly from the Warming House, with a further door leading out eastwards, beyond the Cloister. The room measured 12.5m north-south x 8.33m east-west internally, with a six-bayed, vaulted roof, supported on two octagonal pillars. The south wall probably featured two windows, only one of which was revealed in the excavations (F081), with an external buttress between them (088). The south end of the east wall featured an elaborate, arched opening (F082), leading into the Reredorter Undercroft (Room 5).
The Novice’s Day Room remained virtually unchanged, despite the alterations to the adjacent Reredorter and Warming House. Only during the 16th-century was there any repair, in the form of low earthen banks (064), similar to those noted in the Warming House, where the original floor was raised to receive timber joists.
The Reredorter Undercroft (Rooms 5 and 6) [Report Sections 4.4.2 & 4.5.3]The Reredorter, or latrine block, was located at the extreme south-east corner of the Cloister, to exploit the route of the Great Drain as it ran eastwards towards the Abbey Burn. The latrines themselves were located at first floor, over a deep channel which ran immediately south of the Undercroft (Rooms 5 and 6), the south wall of which also formed the south wall of the upper floor. The south wall of the Undercroft (F169) formed the north side of the latrine channel, and separated the drain from the ground floor space, which featured high-quality masonry. Covering the Reredorter Undercroft were four bays of quadripartite rib vaulting, springing from the corners of the room and from the wall faces. The masonry details (springers, vault ribs, window and doorway surrounds) were finely moulded, in contrast to the majority of the exposed internal wall faces within the room. The latter walls were relatively crude, and were probably plastered over.
Once cleared of rubble, the 12th- and 13th-century chamber was found to measure 17.40m east-west x 4.76m north-south internally, with evidence of two windows and a doorway (F237) in the north wall. A further internal refinement comprised a well-constructed arched recess or aumbry (F163) towards the west end of the south wall. The archway (F082) between the Novice’s Day Room and the Undercroft was of very high-quality construction. The sides were of finely moulded, stepped masonry and the opening originally measured 2.6m wide (on the east side), widening to 3.2m on the west, the Novice’s Day Room side. Although the upper parts of the archway were absent, it appeared to have been rounded at the apex, standing to a maximum height of 1.6m above the floor.
In the early years of the 14th century (Period III) the block was reduced by 3.5m at its east end, and a new east wall (F234), with a central window was built, creating a new room measuring 12.38m long east-west (Room 6). In addition, the aumbry was blocked and a crude drain inserted (F280), emptying into the latrine channel to the south. Externally the south façade of the Reredorter was stabilised with a new buttress (F170), and a new, separate building (Structure 12) was erected against the south wall. Towards the end of the active life of the Abbey (Period IV), the archway between the Novice’s Day Room and Reredorter was partially blocked to form a small doorway (F136), ultimately blocked entirely during the 16th century (Period V).
Other Buildings (Structures 12 and 7) [Report Section 4.4.3]The fragmentary remains of a crude stone building (Structure 12) were traced, built against the south wall of the Reredorter block, running on a slightly north-east to south-west alignment. Little survived of this building to suggest how, if at all, it was linked to the Reredorter, but the building can be seen as part of the stabilisation works on the south wall of the Reredorter during the later 14th century (Period III).
During the later 15th century (Period IV), a further simple structure (Structure 7) was constructed at the east end of the south range, built over the newly-capped east end of the original latrine channel, where it emerged beyond the east wall of the Reredorter Undercroft. This building was a timber, lean-to construction, and was defined by a series of floor deposits and the remains of a doorway and threshold (F236).
The Great Drain and Latrines [Report Sections 4.2.4, 4.3.5, 4.5.2, 4.5.4, 4.7.1 & 4.7.2]It is likely that the Great Drain (F103), as laid-out in the 12th century, followed an almost direct west-east route, running immediately south of the Novice’s Day Room and some 2m south of the early Refectory (Room 8) and Warming House (Room 11). The drain was originally an open, stone-lined channel running beneath the Reredorter block. Within the Reredorter, the sides of the drain (F159/169) projected upwards to form a deep channel to first floor level, for the use of latrines at this level. The floor of the channel sloped gently to the east, and survived to a maximum depth of 2.8m. The sides were braced internally by three cross-walls, probably corresponding to four separate latrine chutes at first floor. Beyond the reredorter to the east, the channel resumed its course to the Abbey Burn as an uncapped channel. With the increase in the Lay Brothers accommodation in the West Range during the 13th century (Period II), the Great Drain was capped and sealed to the west of its route along the South Range. The repairs to the damaged Reredorter block after the Wars of Independence saw further bracing of the latrine channel. However, it was not until the later 15th- early 16th centuries (Period IV) that the drain was capped and covered where it emerged to the east of the reduced latrine block. The capstones themselves mainly comprised re-used broken grave slabs, probably robbed from the Abbey Church, one of which featured a finely carved sword motif. This activity probably occurred when the original first floor latrine arrangements were replaced by two external garderobes (F089, F090), with chutes emptying into the South Drain at the foot of the south wall, the South Drain by this time being much reduced in flow, necessitating the periodic digging-out of the channel
The Artefacts and Ecofacts [Report Sections 6 to 16, pages 39-81]The excavation revealed good assemblages of ceramics, metal objects and faunal remains, all discarded or lost during the active life of the Abbey. In addition there was considerable evidence of the post-abandonment use of the site (Period VI), in terms of domestic and horticultural remains associated with the Manse. All this evidence aided in the placing of the sequence of construction and conversion in its historic context, and shed light on the diet and lifestyle of the occupants of the site over this period.
Inevitably most of the material retrieved reflected the final occupation of the site, when the Manse gardens and stables encroached over ruined Abbey buildings. Ink-pots, boot polish, hair restorer, ceramic hot-water bottles and general household crockery all bore testament to life in the late 19th-century Manse. However, crucial proof of the earliest occupation was found in the form of 13th-century Scottish East Coast White Gritty wares. found sealing deposits associated with the initial construction of the South Range. Several examples of Italian, Iberian and French imported wares were found over the full lifespan of the Monastic community, demonstrating the European dimension of the Cistercian Order, and trade links between Scotland and Europe at this time.
Artefacts recovered included coins, broken window glass, an iron spearhead, a copper alloy ingot and a large silver spoon, all of medieval date. Within the fills of drains and garderobes, indications of the diet of the house were revealed, with the discovery of remains of figs, raspberries, elderberries, and cereals, as well as evidence of colonisation by natural heathers, sedges and wild flowers after abandonment. Poultry, sheep, pigs and fish (both fresh-water and marine) were also consumed by the House over its entire history, often with evidence of food remains being cast to domestic pets, the bones having been gnawed by dogs. A cross fragment was found among Period V demolition material in Room 5 (Reredorter Undercroft). The finds are now in the Stewartry Museum, Kircudbright.
DISCUSSION [Report Section 17, pages 82-86]The excavation and research at Dundrennan confirms the importance and eventful history of this, the most important Cistercian foundation in south-west Scotland. The combined rise in fortunes of the early Lords of Galloway and of the Cistercian Order, in the later 13th century, is evidenced by the very scale of the Abbey, and the subsequent extension of its buildings at this time. The alliance between Fergus of Galloway and the Cistercian Order around 1142, perhaps as a result of contact with Archbishop Malachy in 1139, suited the needs of both parties well. The extension of Cistercian influence via a strategic mainland site in south-west Scotland, under the patronage and protection of a dynamic and powerful family, was realised by the foundation at Dundrennan, while for his part, Fergus was also able to demonstrate his piety and nobility through his commitment to the most successful, holy and revered monastic movement in 12th-century Europe.
The decline in affluence and power for both the early Lordship and the Cistercian Order is graphically reflected by the transition between Periods III and IV, which heralded the gradual but irrevocable decline of the House. From the early years of the 14th century, building work on the South Range occurred in response to necessary repairs on the one hand, and in response to the need for conversion of existing chambers to meet the demands of a smaller and more insular community on the other.
The role of Dundrennan Abbey in the politics of the day is echoed at the very end of its active life, when the later commendators, as supporters of the Catholic cause in the 16th century, re-defined the abbey as a defensible House, protecting their interests.
The South Range of the Abbey does not reflect directly the ritual and wealth of the community, in terms of fine architecture and artefactual wealth, but the evidence revealed during the excavations offers a human context to the fortunes of this great monument, and those who erected and supported it.
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