One of the Most Complete Medieval Monastaries in Scotland

Crossraguel Abbey was founded by Earl Duncan of Carrick (died 1250) and colonised by monks from the Cluniac abbey at Paisley. The lands bestowed on it lay almost entirely in Carrick, and included fishing rights, coal deposits and the churches of Dailly, Kirkoswald, Straiton, Girvan and Ballantra.

The abbey buildings were badly damaged in the Wars with England in the early fourteenth century and much of what you see today dates from the later fourteenth century.

In 1404 Crossraguel became a regality and its abbot the most influential person in Ayrshire. The rebuilding of the church choir, the chapter house and other parts of the cloister in the fifteenth century probably reflects this enhanced status.

The last abbot, William Kennedy, died in 1547, before the Reformation Parliament of 1560 effectively ended monastic life in Scotland. The last monk, John Bryce, passed away about 1602.

A Clunic House
The monks at Crossraguel belonged to the order of Cluny (the Cluniac order). Cluny Abbey, in Burgundy, was the first of the new medieval monasteries to arise from the ashes of the Dark Ages. The Clunaic day was centered on a highly elaborate round of prayer and praise to God.

Two other Clunaic houses were established in Scotland - Isle of May Priory - founded by King David I about 1150. - Paisley Abbey - founded by Walter the Steward about 1163.

'Cross of Riaghail"
The name suggests that a great standing cross (like the Barochan Cross illustrated here and now on display in Paisley Abbey) stood on the site in ancient times. St. Riaghail, of Mucinis in Lough Derg, is a well-known Irish saint, usually identified with St. Regulus or St Rule, who is honoured at St Andrews Cathedral, in Fife.


(caption)
The abbey as it might have looked at the time of the Reformation in 1560.

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