Newbattle Abbey, abbey church, cloisters and associated buildings

Heritage listing

Date Added 11/10/1960 Last Date Amended 05/10/2011 Type Ecclesiastical: abbey; burial ground, cemetery, graveyard; chapel; cloisters; grange/farm - secular buildings associated; well Local Authority Midlothian Parish Newbattle NGR NT 33326 66031 Coordinates 333326, 666031 — The monument comprises the remains of Newbattle Abbey, a Cistercian establishment, surviving as buried structural foundations and deposits. The abbey was founded in 1140 by David I as a daughter house of Melrose Abbey. Newbattle fell into secular hands in the 16th century and the upstanding remains of the abbey were largely dismantled. Above-ground elements of the eastern range were retained, however, and are preserved within the present house. The monument is located on the north bank of the River South Esk, at a height of around 45m above sea level. The monument was first scheduled on 11 October 1960 and is being rescheduled to improve the associated documentation and mapping and to extend the scheduled area to cover all of the remains. Excavations in the late 19th century revealed the buried foundations of the abbey church, cloister and associated ranges, allowing the plan of the main abbey complex to be reconstructed. The abbey church, situated at the north of the cloister, comprises an aisled structural nave of ten bays, crossing and two transepts. Each transept has two eastern chapels and a square-ended and aisled eastern arm or structural choir. The length of the church, from ESE-WNW, is 80m. The nave measures 22m ENE-WSW by up to 45m over the transepts and is 48m long, with a central aisle around 7m wide and side aisles 2.8m wide. The choir and presbytery are one and a half bays, with two large piers 3.7m in diameter. The crossing has four similar piers which supported a tower. Burials have b

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.