On the A77 just south of Maybole, you will pass the ruins of Crossraguel Abbey. Owned by Historic Scotland, it is open from April to September with an entrance fee of just over £3.00. It is well worth a visit, as it is probably one of the best preserved set of monastic ruins in the country.
Founded in 1244, it was an extension of the monastic community of Paisley Abbey, with whom it had a continued close relationship. Paisley Abbey itself has an interesting history as being part of the revival of monasticism which centred around the great monastery of Cluny in France, founded in 950AD. The Cluniac reforms were brought about in the tenth century by Benedictines who wished to restore traditional monastic values where these had become corrupt and lax.
The Cluniac movement was one of the largest religious forces in Europe. At least as significantly as their political consequences, the reforms demanded greater religious devotion. The Cluniacs promoted pilgrimages to the Holy Land. An increasingly rich liturgy stimulated demand for altar vessels of gold, fine tapestries and fabrics, stained glass, and polyphonic choral music.
To celebrate the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of Cluny, trips, exhibitions and conferences are being planned. Many people from France will be joining the ‘Cluniac trail’, which will lead them to Paisley and Crossraguel.
The Maybole Council of Churches holds an open air service at Crossraguel each year to mark the start of Maybole’s Gala Week.
