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Find the latest information on travel, and Good to Go Covid-safe businesses. This splendid red-sandstone ruin of the late 13th century was founded by Lady Dervorgilla of Galloway, in memory of her husband Lord John Balliol. This site is closed closed for now. When her husband died in , Lady Dervorgilla, had his heart embalmed and placed in an ivory casket which she carried everywhere with her. A shell of a building that is packed full of intrigue, history, and a story of true love.
The story begins in Lady Devorgilla of Galloway had just lost her husband John Balliol Snr and her love was so strong she could not live without him. She also, in his name, ensured the permanence of Balliol College, Oxford University by giving money and laying the statutes, that still survive today.
But also, in his memory, in she had built another Abbey a few miles south of Dumfries , and at the time it was a New Abbey, and of course, that is how the village of new abbey got its name……. Lady Devorgilla herself died in , and was buried in a tomb in front of the altar, with the embalmed heart buried with her.
The Abbey did start to fall into disrepair at this point though, that is until later in the 14th Century when it came under the protection of Lord Galloway Archibald the Grim. The Protestant Reformation in the s of course sounded the end for Sweetheart Abbey. Even though it took longer here to take effect than most places. The Abbey was at this time in the care of a Catholic, Lord Maxwell.
The last abbot was Abbot Gilbert who continued to defy the new religion and carried on preaching. He was jailed for a short period in and exiled in When visiting, and as you can see in the pictures, the church element of the Abbey is structurally standing tall and proud still. The cloisters etc and much of the walls have fallen to real ruin. Toggle navigation. Best of Britain. Sweetheart Abbey More Photos. The name of this wonderfully atmospheric ruined abbey tells you a lot about its history.
Sweetheart Abbey was founded in by Lady Devorgilla of Galloway, the widow of John Balliol, one of the most powerful noblemen of his day. When Balliol died in , Devorgilla had his heart embalmed and placed in an ornate ivory casket, which she carried with her wherever she went for the next 22 years. Devorgilla initiated numerous charitable acts in Balliol's memory. One of her acts was to provide funds for a new Cistercian abbey in her husband's memory, which was named Dulce Cor, the Latin for 'sweet heart'.
The new abbey, founded in , was the last Cistercian monastery to be established in Scotland. The monks of the new abbey came from Dundrennan Abbey , further west along the Solway Firth. In Devorgilla died and was interred before the high altar of the abbey church that she had founded. Her husband's heart casket was buried with her, clutched to her bosom or, buried beside her depending on which version of the story you prefer.
So Sweetheart Abbey is at the same time a monument to both human and divine love and a testament to one woman's lasting affection for her husband. In , while construction on the abbey was still being finished, Edward I of England used it as a base for his military campaign in Galloway. The wars that followed over the next 5 decades left the abbey in poor condition; the Bishop of Galloway recorded the monastery as notorious for its poverty. But things were about to change for the better, and the man responsible was Archibald the Grim, 3rd Earl of Douglas and Lord of Galloway.
The Earl gave funds to rebuild the abbey, and much of what we can see today we owe to his generosity. The setting is wonderful; the red sandstone ruins are marvellously appealing, and many of the walls still stand to a very great height.
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