Interior. Detail of coat of arms over the south fireplace in the basement.

Description Interior. Detail of coat of arms over the south fireplace in the basement.

Date 5/1995

Catalogue Number C 54086

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 772441

Scope and Content Coat-of-arms above south fireplace in undercroft, Newbattle Abbey House, Midlothian This shows a sculptured stone coat-of-arms of the Kerr family, Marquesses of Lothian, above the fireplace in the medieval undercroft (part of the original abbey). The family emblem of a 'sun in his splendour' appears on the shield and above the helmet on top of the crown above. Two 'supporters' (an angel and a unicorn) flank the shied, and below is the family motto: 'SERO SED SERIO', meaning 'Late, but in Earnest'. Placing this coat-of-arms above the c.17th-century fireplace suggests pride in the family and its history on the site. The Kerr sunburst (a smiling sun with radiating rays) appears throughout the house and gardens on sculptures, sundials and seats. Newbattle Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1140, and its church dedicated to St Mary in 1233-4. It became a private residence in 1587 when the last abbot, Mark Kerr, converted to Protestantism and was able to retain his lands. His son became Lord Newbattle in 1596. The remains of the abbey are built into the surviving house, which was modified and rebuilt by the architects John Mylne (1650), William Burn (1836) and David Bryce (1858). The house was gifted to the nation in 1937 to be used as a further education college. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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