Melrose [Melros] Abbey

Category

Library Item

Item no

18680

Title

Melrose [Melros] Abbey

Description

The ruin of Melrose Abbey with its gothic medieval architecture its viewed. Outside the abbey, sheep roam in the dilapidated graveyard.

Artist / maker

Shepherd, Thomas Hosmer

Engraver

Barber, T

Date

1829

Size

10.0 x 15.7 cm

Type

Engraving

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

This image comes from 'Modern Athens', a book of engravings based on drawings by Thomas Shepherd published in 1829. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Edinburgh was growing rapidly. The popular neoclassical architectural style of the time was inspired by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and Edinburgh was nicknamed 'Athens of the North'. Shepherd's engravings celebrate the beauty of Edinburgh and show many notable buildings and streets both within the city, and further afield.

Melrose Abbey was founded in 1136 by David I. It was the first Cistercian abbey in Scotland. During the wars with the English in the Middle Ages the Abbey was attacked by the English on several occasions. After an attack by Richard II in 1385 the abbey had to be completely rebuilt. The abbey was the home of around 100 monks, had extensive lands and was an important agriculturalist of the area and known for their wool. The Abbey was attacked during the Reformation in the sixteenth century, and from then on it fell into disrepair. It is now owned by Historic Environment Scotland and open as a visitor attraction.

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Related images

Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Doors and doorways

Architecture > Architectural features > Windows

Places > Scotland > Borders

Religion > Religious facilities > Disrepair (places of worship)

Religion > Religious facilities > Graveyards

Religion > Religious facilities > Protestant churches

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