Fodor's Expert Review Sweetheart Abbey

Dumfries Free

At the center of the village of New Abbey are the impressive red-tinted, roofless remains of Sweetheart Abbey, founded in 1273 by the Lady of Galloway Devorgilla (1210-90), who, it is said, kept her dead husband's heart in a tiny casket she carried everywhere. After she died, she was laid to rest in the Abbey with the casket resting on her breast. The couple's son John Balliol (1249–1315) was the puppet king installed in Scotland by Edward of England when the latter claimed sovereignty over Scotland. After John's appointment the Scots gave him a scathing nickname that would stay with him for the rest of his life: Toom Tabard (Empty Shirt). Currently the  abbey is closed for restoration, but you can still view it from afar.

Free Religious Building

Quick Facts

A710
New Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway  DG2 8BU, Scotland

01387-253849

www.historic-scotland.gov.uk

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