Publication Account

Date 1981

Event ID 1018207

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018207

The supposition is strong that Kilwinning Abbey had been founded by Richard de Moreville 1162 x 1189. The first mention of the church of St. Vinnin occurs in the 1184 chronicle of Benedict of Peterborough, but the Abbey is not mentioned by name until 1202 x 1207 (Cowan and Easson, 1976, 69). Virtually nothing is known of the Abbey's early history although by the early sixteenth century control had passed from the hands of an abbot to a lay commendator. In 1592, the Abbey was raised into free barony in favour of William Melville, but there is no mention whether the abbatial settlement was granted burghal status (RMS, v, no.2085). Little is known of the actual destruction of the Abbey buildings. Bishop Les1ey in 1578 noted that '2 miles from Irvine there is a monastery of great magnificence named Kilwinning (Ker, 1900, 17). John Knox, writing in 1561’ reported that various earls ‘togidder with the Protestants of the West cast down Kilwinning Abbey on the orders of the Privy Council (Laing, 1895, ii, 167). The extent of damage which 'the Protestants of the West did to the fabric of the buildings is unknown, although relying on Bishop Lesley's observations it appears that the destruction was not total. The employment of the Abbey as a public quarry might account for further damage.

The walls of the Abbey church had originally been left standing and the reformers re-used these as a parish church. This church was pulled down in 1775 and a new one was constructed on the site. Stone for the new structure came from five Abbey walls (Hay,.d.,22). The ruins of this once very fine Abbey are confined mainly to the gable of the south transept, two side windows and the doorway of the chapter house, plus seven arches.

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