Balmerino Abbey: A Cistercian Monastery in Fife

Situated on the southern banks of the River Tay, Balmerino Abbey was established in 1229 by Queen Ermengarde, widow of William the Lion and mother of Alexander II. Home for over three hundred years to a devout order of Cistercian monks, the Abbey was ravaged by the Reformation in the sixteenth century, converted to a barony and occupied by generations of the Lords of Balmerino, and then, in 1936, gifted to the National Trust for Scotland by the Earl of Dundee. Drawing on the most recent archaeological research, this booklet tells the story of what remains and what once was, tracing the tranquil and turbulent life of Balermino from its thirteenth century monastic origins to the present day.