Newbattle (Newbottle), Abbey of
NEWBATTLE (NEWBOTTLE), ABBEY OF
Former cistercian abbey in the county of Midlothian, old Diocese of Saint Andrews, Scotland (Neubotle, i.e., a new dwelling). It was founded by david i and his son Henry, Nov. 1, 1140, and dedicated to St. Mary; it was the first daughterhouse of melrose. Its later acquisitions included a coal mine and a quarry, which provided the monks with a useful source of income. The abbey was badly damaged by the English in 1385, 1544, and 1548. In 1560 its abbot, Mark Ker, subscribed to the reformed religion and secured the abbey's properties for his son. The east range of the abbey is now incorporated into Newbattle Abbey College.
Bibliography: Registrum S. Marie de Neubotle, ed. c. innes (Edinburgh 1849). Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland: Counties of Midlothian and West Lothian (Edinburgh 1929). j. m. canivez, ed., Statuta capitulorum generalium ordinis cisterciensis, 8 v. (Louvain 1933–41), 5:750–751; 6:406, 689–690; 7:37. g. w. s. barrow, "Scottish Rulers and the Religious Orders, 1070–1153," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th ser. 3 (1953) 94–95. d. e. easson, Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland (London 1957) 65.
[l. macfarlane]