Description:

Duncan of Carrick founded the abbey in the early 1200s. The monks who served here over four centuries were of the Cluniac order, named after the French abbey of Cluny. Paisley and Crossraguel were Scotland’s only Cluniac monasteries.

In the early years, an argument raged between Paisley and her daughter house over Crossraguel’s independence. Paisley fought hard to cling on to the churches and to other endowments granted by Earl David to Crossraguel. Crossraguel probably didn’t function properly until the late 1200s as a result.

Then came the Wars of Independence with England after 1296. Robert the Bruce was by this time Earl of Carrick and the Crossraguel’s monks were loyal to their new patron throughout the conflict, causing the abbey to be targeted and severely damaged.