Archaeology Notes

Event ID 707550

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/707550

NS97NE 19 97189 76411

(NS 9719 7640) Manuel Nunnery (NR) (Ruin)

[Undated] OS 6" map.

All that now remains of the buildings of Manuel Nunnery is the N portion of the W gable of the church. The more easterly part of the site has been washed away by the River Avon, as were the S side-wall and the cemetery in 1783. A drawing of about 1739 (A Cardonnel 1788) shows the church as still entire, though roofless. The cloister seems to have been on the S, entry being obtained by a doorway in the middle of the S wall of the church. Architectural details suggest a 12th century date for the building. Manuel, a house of Cistercian nuns, was founded by Malcolm IV before 1164. Little is known of its history or possessions, but the house was not wealthy and the community may always have been a small one. A prioress and four nuns were in residence in 1552.

RCAHMS 1963, visited 1953.

The remains of the nunnery are as described.

Visited by OS (JLD) 17 December 1952 and (JP) 10 January 1974.