Publication Account

Date 1981

Event ID 1018085

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018085

About a quarter of a mile to the west of the town stands the ruins of a nunnery dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was formerly endowed with revenue from different sources in Fife, Ayrshire, Berwickshire and the Lothians (Ferrier, 1878, 14). It was founded by Duncan I Earl of Fife (1136-1154), and may have been originally a Benedictine house later claiming to be Cistercian in order to claim the privileges of that order (Cowan, 1947, 147). Ruins of the nunnery survive in the grounds of an old people's home. They consist of a ruined late medieval range running east and west, constructed of rubble with dressing of a yellowish white stone (Mcwilliam, 1978, 363).

Information from ‘Historic North Berwick: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1981).