Edinburgh

Holyrood Abbey

According to legend a stag attacked the king, David I, during a hunting expedition. When he held his hands out to protect himself, instead of the stag there was a cross, which had appeared in its place. He built the abbey to house this called Holyrood, which means Holy Cross. Of the original abbey all that remains is a doorway in the south-eastern corner - the rest of the building dates from the late 12^th and early 13^th centuries.

The English sacked the abbey in 1547 and the transept and chancel were demolished during the Reformation. Charles I tried to restore the building by ordering the east window and a new stone roof, but the latter collapsed in 1768 causing damage to the rest of the structure. By this time the congregation of Canongate had another place to worship and further plans to rebuild the abbey were abandoned.

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