Publication Account

Date 1996

Event ID 1016451

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016451

The Vale of Pluscarden, sheltering behind Heldon Hill, is a suitably serene location for that most rare of contemporary ecclesiastical sights, a working abbey. The simple crosses in the burial ground to the north-east of the abbey mark the graves of some of the modern monks who, since 1948, have gradually restored this great 13thcentury church.

Founded by Alexander II in 1230, Pluscarden was one of only three Valliscaulian priories in Scotland or England which were daughters of the Priory of Val des Choux in Burgundy. (The others were Beauly in Highland and Ardchattan in Argyll.) Pluscarden was dedicated to St Mary and St John, the two patrons of the order, and to St Andrew. In 1454 Pluscarden became a Benedictine house after union with the Priory of Urquhart, 7km east of Elgin. After the Reformation, some monks remained for several decades.

The revival of the priory began with its purchase in 1897 by that remarkable Catholic antiquarian, John, third marquis of Bute, who proceeded with 'the conscientiousness of a traditionalist and the zeal of a convert' to repair parts of the building. In 1943 his son, Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart, presented the priory to the Benedictine community of Prinknash, near Gloucester, and in 1948 five of their monks began the work of restoration that is still continuing. (The restoration is to plans prepared by the distinguished Scottish architect and historian, lan G Lindsay.) Raised to the status of an abbey in 1974, there are now nearly 30 monks, priests and novices.

The traveller enters the precincts through the original enclosure wall, one of the best preserved in the country, and approaches the east side of the restored church, with its simple tiered lancet windows, and the range of pleasing conventual buildings (Chapter House, Library, Refectory and Dormitory). The tranquillity and beauty of the exterior are matched inside. Entry is by a door in the north transept; it is possible that the nave was never completed. The soft stone of the tall pillars of the crossing and the old night-stair give back the blues and golds of the great north rose window.There is now a fine tradition of stainedglass manufacture at Pluscarden, seen most spectacularly in the cataract of glorious reds and golds that floods the restored chancel through the new east lancets.

Around the chancel arch, repaired after the damage traditionally ascribed to the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390, are some unusual fragments of 15th-century frescoes; a seated St John can be seen on the north side.

The rare calm of Pluscarden remains long with the traveller.

Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Aberdeen and North-East Scotland’, (1996).