Friaries in Scotland
Visits supported to produce an up to date gazetteer and background summary regarding Scotland’s medieval friaries
This project is designed to produce an up to date gazetteer and background summary regarding Scotland’s medieval friaries. It will specifically cover the friaries founded by the Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan and Trinitarian orders. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Research grant has so far enabled field visits to the Carmelite friary in Luffness, the site of the Franciscan friary in Inverkeithing, the sites of the Dominican, Franciscan and Carmelite friaries in Edinburgh, the sites of the Carmelite, Dominican and Franciscan friaries in Perth, the sites of the Dominican and Franciscan friaries in Dundee, the sites of the Dominican and Franciscan friaries in Glasgow, the sites of the Dominican and Franciscan friaries in St Andrews, the site of the Dominican friary in St Monans and the site of the Trinitarian friary in Peebles.
Visits will be made to friary sites in Cupar, Haddington, Montrose, Stirling, Jedburgh, Linlithgow and South Queensferry by the end of the financial year. This will leave 21 sites that require to be visited and a grant bid for continuation of the project has been submitted to the Society for Church Archaeology (supported by Professors Richard Fawcett (St Andrews University) and Roberta Gilchrist (Reading University). Gazetteer entries have been started for all friary sites visited and photographs taken of the current state of the sites. Research continues into cartographic, photographic and documentary evidence for all sites. It is intended to offer the final publication to SAIR as an online publication thus allowing for wide dissemination. Following a site visit to Luffness by Aberlady a bid has been made to the HES archaeology programme for non-invasive fieldwork and geophysics of that Carmelite friary site which has not been properly surveyed since 1925.
Derek Hall
Image: Mural tomb at Luffness Carmelite friary by Aberlady (c) Derek Hall