Kelso Abbey

Built in 1128 and the years following,Kelso Abbey was one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture.It was one of the largest and richest in Scotland,having a superb libary in medieval times.Finally finished,it was dedicated to the blessed Virgin and St.John in 1243.In the 12th and 3th centuries,the Abbot of Kelso was granted the right to wear a mitre,which gave him a precedence higher than any other Scottish Abbot.The abbey's wealth came from its vast lands,its churches,schools,farms and its granges in the Cheviot Hills.Two kings,James III and James IV,were crowned in the Abbey,and Prince Henry,son of David I,was buried here in 1152.
With the Reformation,and Henry VIII's determination to wipe out the Border Abbeys,by 1550 Kelso Abbey along with those in Melrose,Dryburgh and Jedburgh had been reduced to rubble by the English Forces under Hereford.Despite attempts at rebuilding,all the Abbeys went into decline,and soon few,if any,monks remained.A Parish Church used part of a site about 1650 with a new school alongside.
This seems to hae continued in use until about 1770,with the Abbey ruins being used as a source of ready hewn stone for buildings elsewhere in the town.
In 1823,the remains of the Abbey were made safe,and in 1919 they passed into the care of the nation.
In 1978,to commemorate the 850th Anniversary of the foundations of the Abbey a series of events were held in the town.