Kinloss Abbey, Cistercian monastery ruins in Moray, Scotland.
Kinloss Abbey is a medieval monastery ruin near the village of Kinloss in Moray, Scotland. Stone remains survive across the site, including sections of the south transept and the bases of columns that once supported the main building.
King David I founded the monastery in 1150, bringing Cistercian monks north from Melrose Abbey to settle here. After the Reformation in the 16th century, the buildings fell out of use and much of the stone was taken away for other construction in the area.
Abbot Robert Reid invited the Italian scholar Giovanni Ferrerio to teach here in the 16th century, bringing humanist ideas to a remote corner of northern Scotland. Visitors today can stand in the same grounds where this exchange of learning once took place.
The site is open and free to walk around at any time, with information boards placed around the grounds to help identify the different parts of the old monastery. Sturdy footwear is a good idea since some areas have uneven ground.
In 1312, Robert I of Scotland gave the abbey the right to fish for salmon on the River Findhorn, a grant that placed the monastery among the more influential landowners in the region. No marker at the site today points to this connection with the nearby river.
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