Field Visit
Date 3 August 1928
Event ID 1098228
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1098228
Inchcolm Abbey.
The island of Inchcolm, less than 20 acres in extent, lies in the Firth of Forth at a distance of five furlongs from the coast of Fife. On it are the extensive remains of an Augustinian abbey. Owing to the isolated situation they are unusually complete, notwithstanding that a partial demolition took place in 1581, when the Town Council of Edinburgh, for the purpose of rebuilding the Tolbooth (1), purchased the ashlar and "thack stanes" of the Abbey, evidently those of the east end of the church.
The ruins, which are now under the guardianship of H.M. Office of Works, occupy a sheltered narrow isthmus connecting the high eastern promontory with the main part of the island. As the result of successive reconstructions, the plan is intricate, while it also presents some unusual features. In Vol. lx (1925-6) of the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is a detailed analysis by Mr. J. Wilson Paterson of the development of the buildings, accompanied by historical ground-plans based on investigation by H.M. Office of Works. Free use has been made of that account in the preparation of this article.
[see RCAHMS 1933, 6-15 for a detailed architectural description and historical note]
RCAHMS 1933, visited 3 August 1928.
(1) Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1573-1589, pp. 204, 210.
