Scottish Blog

Arbroath Abbey was the historical signing place for the Declaration of Arbroath.

The Arbroath Abbey dates back to 1178 when it was founded by King William I. The permission to build an abbey were granted to a group of Benedictine monks from Kelso Abbey. Along with the rights to build the Arbroath Abbey itself, the monks were granted a number of other very lucrative assets and rights. Most impressive amongst these were the new churches right to operate separately from its mother church, the right to build a market and a harbour which would be able to trade with all English towns but London without any tolls. It also received land in each royal burgh of Scotland and income from twenty four different parishes.

Arbroath Abbey was consecrated in 1197, at this point its construction was incomplete. In fact, there is historic evidence which suggest that Arbroath Abbey was still incomplete when King William was buried there in 1214.

The exact date that the Arbroath Abbey was completed is unknown, as with many churches and buildings of the time. This is due largely to the fact that it is difficult to pin point the moment when the church is complete as the length of time it took to finish a building would be long enough for sections of it to deteriorate and have to be rebuilt.
It is known though that the Arbroath Abbey was relatively complete when it was used to discuss, write and sign the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

Architecturally, the Arbroath Abbey is an interesting exhibit. It is built out of local red sandstone, which gives it a distinctive colour and texture. It is also relatively large, which is befitting as it was the richest church of its time. Arbroath Abbey also features high perfectly circular windows, which were light at night and used to warn mariners of the approaching land.