Abbot’s House Dunfermline, Scotland

It is uncertain that the Abbot’s House in Dunfermline ever housed an Abbot, but it is a lovely example of 16th Century Scottish architecture. The Abbot’s House seems to have been used by the Commendators of Dunfermline Abbey, they may have built the house or at the very least, extensively remodelled it.

The first Abbot of Dunfermline arrived at the request of Kind David of Scotland, when he wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury requesting such a person. In his letter he writes:

            ‘Whence I very respectfully entreat your admirable excellence to deign to send a suitable person of the aforesaid church whom your examination and chose shall have judged worthy of abbatial prelacy, who entirely free and quit of subjection and obedience to your church, save for the brotherly love which ought to be common to all churches, shall, God willing, rule as abbot of the church of Dunfermline; appointed on this understanding and agreement, that thenceforward the Dunfermline monks shall elect and take for themselves a person, when the need shall arise, from themselves in their own chapter.’

The Archbishop did grant his request, as we know that he sent his own prior, Gregory, from Canterbury to become the first Abbot of Dunfermline. While the letter is undated, we know that Prior Gregory arrived at Dunfermline in 1124. Until the first dormitories were erected, we do not know where the Prior was accommodated.

King David of Scotland granted the Abbey at Dunfermline, in 1125, the following:

            ‘Know ya that I have granted and given for ever in alms, for the soul of my father and of my mother and of my brothers and ancestors, to the Church of the Holy Trinity of Dunfermline…one dwelling place in my burgh of Dunfermline, free and quiet; and another in my burgh of Striuelin, and another in my burgh of Perth, and another in my burgh of Edinburgh.’

This may be the first, possible reference, of a house belonging to the Abbot in Dunfermline, but there is no evidence it is the same location as where the Abbot’s House today stands. Still, it is certainly possible.

Interestingly, the house that King David gave to Dunfermline, in Edinburgh, is the on the exact site where John Knox’s House stands today. The land still belonged to the Abbey, and the town council did not redeem its promise to make other provisions for John Knox, and so he continued to live there. Today it has become known as John Knox’s House. It has been almost forgotten that, since 1125, that house or its predecessor, had been the residence of the Abbot of Dunfermline within the capital. Abbeys commonly owned houses of this type, so that the Abbot could travel and have provision, when visiting outlying areas and other possessions.

King David also issued a charter, around 1126, notifying that he had gifted to Dunfermline Abbey, three ‘men’. He names them as Ragewin, Gillepatrick and Ulchil, and states that with their families, they are to be held by it in all time coming, from the same way he held his ‘men’.  This is something I haven’t come across before, but he is in effect, gifting three of his serfs and their families, to the Abbey. While villeins may have been tied to the land, the King seems to have seen serfs as his own personal property.

We get even more politically incorrect, when a serf named Cumberlache runs away, and King David issues a charter, here he states:

            ‘I order that Cumerlache be quickly restored to the Church of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline, and all the slaves whom my father and mother and brothers gave to it, and their cumerlache from the time of King Edward until now, with all its goods wherever these may be found, and I forbid that these be unjustly retained.

So, St. Margaret was giving slaves, to her new church, in the early 12th Century. And it goes on, because William the Lion (1165-1214), issues a charter where he states:

            ‘Be it known that I have gifted Gillandreas MacSuthen and his children to the abbot and monks of Dunfermline and that, as far as I and my heirs are concerned, I have by proclamation assigned them to the Abbey as its undisputed property for ever.’

Ok maybe I’m naive, I can accept the system of villeins tied to the land, but I have some issues with ‘gifting’ entire families to the church.

While this is all very interesting, it does not bring us any closer to the history of Abbot’s House. The only evidence that we have, that it was ever an Abbot’s House, is in the name itself.

From 1560 to 1584, Robert Pitcairn was Commendator of Dunfermline Abbey. After obtaining this appointment, he would need a suitable house and office from which to work, and one of his first tasks was to erect suitable buildings. Although there may have been an earlier house in this location, it is possible that the Abbot’s House we see today was built by him shortly after 1560, it may also have encompassed part of an earlier house. One account tells us, that the buildings Robert erected consisted of two adjacent tenements, constituting a single structure, one of them presumably intended as his residence and the other as an office.

In 1991, the Abbot’s House was being restored as a heritage centre, by the Dunfermline Heritage Trust, and it was thought that this would preserve it for the future. It was during this work, that it was discovered that parts of the house were older than the work carried out by Robert Pitcairn in the 16th century, with at least one 15th Century wall being discovered, so perhaps the name of Abbot’s House is in fact correct. However we can’t be sure, as the name Abbot’s House, does not appear until the 19th Century. Everything we think we know, could also be wrong. Perhaps this was not the house that Pitcairn built at all. While much excavation has been done around the site, it's origins remain a mystery.

In 2016 however, the house had closed. Local volunteers kept up the garden but the house was shut and in need of further restoration. At the time of writing this in 2020, there is hope for Abbot’s House once again. In 2018, it was registered as a Scottish Incorporated Charitable Organisation, with the idea of protecting the building and promoting local artists and heritage skills. It's gift shop has now opened, and they are planning to open a café shortly. While many I’m sure, would prefer that it simply remained a tourist attraction, the house also needs to be able to support itself into the future, for it's own protection.  Without visiting again myself, I will have to reserve any judgement until I can do so, I only hope that this new endeavour will be the key to its future preservation.