Cambuskenneth Abbey

Cambuskenneth Abbey was an Augustinian monastery now is largely reduced to its foundations, however its bell tower remains.

King David I founded Cambuskenneth Abbey around 1140. It was one of the most important abbeys in Scotland, partly due to its proximity to the royal city of Stirling. The abbey was a frequent visitor to royalty, including King Edward of England and the future Scottish King Robert the Bruce. Robert I held his parliament here in 1314, shortly after the Battle of Bannockburn, and again in 1326, the latter to confirm the succession of his son David and ultimately to arrange the transfer of the kingship to the Stuart family in the event of his death without heirs, which would occur with the coronation of Robert Stuart in 1371. Cambuskenneth was burned down by the army of King Richard II of England in 1383 and was subsequently rebuilt.

In 1486 Margaret of Denmark died near Stirling Castle and was buried in the abbey. When her husband James III was killed in 1488 in the Battle of Sauchieburn, just five kilometers south of the abbey, fighting against rebellious nobles, his body was also brought to the monastery for burial.

The abbey lost its importance during the Scottish Reformation. In Most of the buildings were burned down and plundered. Most of the masonry of the church and outbuildings was removed to be used for construction work in the castle. The appointed administrator, John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar, guardian of James V and Mary Stuart, is said to have used large parts of the ruins to build his magnificent city palace in Stirling, Mar's Wark.