Fearn Abbey

Fearn, United Kingdom

Fearn Abbey has its origins in one of Scotland's oldest pre-Reformation church buildings. The original Fearn Abbey was established in either 1221 or 1227 by Premonstratensian canons from Whithorn Priory. Originally founded at 'Old Fearn' near Edderton, it was moved by 1238 to 'New Fearn' further east, perhaps to take advantage of better agricultural lands. The Abbey was rebuilt between 1338 and 1372 on the orders of William III, Earl of Ross. Following the Reformation the Abbey remained in use as a parish church, but disaster struck in 1742 when the flagstone roof collapsed during a service killing many members of the congregation. A new church was then built adjacent to the old ruined church, but it itself had fallen into a ruinous state by the early 1770s. Accordingly, part of the original ruined Abbey was rebuilt in 1772 and again became the parish church as part of the Established Church of Scotland.

The current building thus substantially dates from 1772, but incorporating parts of the medieval structure. It was restored by Ian G. Lindsay & Partners in 1971. Further restoration was carried out in 2002-2003 under the auspices of Historic Scotland.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1238
Category: Religious sites in United Kingdom

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Alex John (13 months ago)
Lovely old church with a tranquil atmosphere. Time seems to stand still.
Sandy McFadyean (2 years ago)
Lovely churchyard. Not much to see if the old abbey, but well worth a visit. The ceiling fell in once and killed 50 of the congregation in front of the minister. Yeek.
Andrew Ross (2 years ago)
Founded by my Ancestor. A simple abbey, where Christ is still faithfully worshipped.
Ingrid Peebles (2 years ago)
Nice little abbey, however all the oldest graves are covered in moss & unreadable.
Pete (2 years ago)
Lovely old Abbey.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.