Stepping Back in Time in Jedburgh Scotland

Story and photos by Mary Casey-Sturk

I recently celebrated my birthday with a trip to Scotland. During that week, I visited the Scottish border town of Jedburgh.

Known for its spectacular 12^th-century Augustinian abbey ruin, visitors from near and far enjoy a visit to Jedburgh to take in the red sandstone structure that also has a visitor center with various displays and a gift shop focusing on locally created products.  While at the visitor center, don’t miss the exceptionally carved stone fragments including crosses and a sarcophagus, dating from the 700s to 1000s.

Historic Environment Scotland shares, “Jedburgh had been an important religious site for 300 years when the Augustinians arrived in 1138. No buildings survive from this earlier period, but many artifacts and archaeological finds give an insight into life before the abbey.”

“Jedburgh is one of the four great abbeys established in the Scottish Borders in the 1100s. David I founded a priory here in 1138 and raised it to abbey status in 1154. The brethren may have come here from St Quentin Abbey, near Beauvais, France. Augustinians were priests who for the most part lived a secluded and contemplative life but also went forth to minister to the people.”

“Monastic life was largely routine. But the abbey’s border location meant it was caught up in the conflict between Scotland and England in the later Middle Ages. The canons had to evacuate the premises during the Wars of Independence in the 1300s.”

The demise of Jedburgh’s monastic life was sealed by further attacks in the 1400s, major raids in the 1500s and the Protestant Reformation of 1560.

A Royal Wedding, A National Tragedy

Scottish King Alexander III and his new queen, Yolande de Dreux, were married here in 1285. Legend says that a ghostly figure appeared before the congregation and foretold the king’s death.  Alexander died the following year, after falling from his horse.

While Alexander was in Edinburgh with his court, his new (and much younger) French wife was missing him terribly. Sending word to him to visit her immediately, the King crossed the Firth of Forth heading to where his wife was staying in Fife. Not wishing to waste a moment, he left his men behind and galloped off on his trusty steed. Both were later found dead-having fallen off a cliff.

Whether the king’s death was foretold or not, Alexander III had already lost his first wife and children, leaving no heirs other than his young granddaughter Margaret, sadly, the three year old arrived gravely ill and died.

This lack of an heir led to much infighting as to who would lead Scotland. When the nobles could not decide, they reached out to King Edward I of England to make the decision for them, leading to years of conflict.

Other sites to visit include Mary Queen of Scot’s House, this 16^th century house museum details the queen’s stay in 1566. Another popular destination is the Jedburgh Castle Jail and Museum- a Georgian-era prison built in the 1820s on the site of a medieval castle.

Walking around Jedburgh is pleasant, with shops, cafes, parks and a market cross. Carter Bar, at the English border, is just 10 miles south.