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 defeated and killed by rebellious nobles (including his 15-year-old son) at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488, just five kilometres south of the abbey, his body was also brought to the abbey for burial. Rumors of James III's death quickly spread. The new regime under James IV tried to distance itself from the murder and blamed "vile and obsure persons".

In 1865, the tomb was opened by Sir James Alexander, who found two skeletons that had largely disintegrated. The neoclassical sarcophagus with coat of arms and Latin inscription that can be seen today dates from the 1860s. It was donated by Queen Victoria