Arbroath Abbey NO 643413 54 HS Tironensian Abbey Arbroath Abbey was founded by King William the Lion in 1178 for the monks of the order of Tiron in memory of his friend Thomas A’Becket.. There are substantial remains of the large church . The abbots house , the main gate and the precinct wall are impressive On the inside of the gable wall at the lower level are three tiers of decorative wall arcading each of them different. The two lower rows are pointed while the third row opens onto a passage behind the open arcade and has round-headed arches. Above these is a pair of tall pointed windows and in the gable itself is a great circular window know locally as the ‘Round O’. Mural passages cross the upper windows and penetrate the walling between them – this also runs round the presbytery within the thickness of the wall. King William the Lion was buried before the high altar in 1214. The Declaration of Arbroath was signed here in 1320 and the stone of Scone was set here before the high altar after being taken from Westminster Abbey in 1951. The Sacristry This is the most complete part of the church and dates from between 1411 and 1449. The structure has two floors -the ground floor chamber is a tall ribbed vaulted room with a cusped arcade on three walls. The vault has ribs springing from corner shafts which stand on a stone bench running round three walls. On the east wall they are replaced by corbels .
The most complete abbots residence in Scotland is here at Arbroath – it dates from around 1500 on an older undercroft