Jedburgh Greyfriars

The foundations of the last monastic house to be founded in Scotland are laid out within a public garden.

A group of followers of St Francis of Assissi, known as Observant Fransiscans, opened a number of religious houses in Scotland in the later 15th century. The last of these, at Jedburgh, was in existence by 1505AD. This house suffered badly in a series of English attacks on Jedburgh, mostly notable in 1523, 1544 and 1545. The last of these raids was particularly destructive and the friary was amongst a list of places described as "brent, rased and caste down". The friary may not have been properly repaired after this final attack and may have closed before the Reformation in 1560. In the following years, all of the buildings were demolished and the stones reused elsewhere in the town. The site was excavated by archaeologists during the early 1980s and was laid out as a garden in 1993.

Dixon, P, O'Sullivan, J & Rogers I, 2000. Archaeology Excavations at Jedburgh Friary 1983-1992.