157a - Kelso Abbey, S.E. View

This drawing is dated 1788, and as not attributed to any artist, is likely to be the work of George Henry Hutton himself. It is one of around five items relating to Kelso in the Hutton Collection, and shows the ruined east end of the abbey church, which is the only substantial part of the abbey complex remaining. To the right of the abbey in the background is the squat clock-tower of Kelso town hall. Built on the north bank of the River Tweed, immediately to the north-east of the ancient burgh and castle of Roxburgh, Kelso Abbey was founded by King David I in 1128. Its inhabitants were Tironensians, a community of monks from Tiron in France who had left the Benedictine order in 1105. In 1550 the abbey was largely destroyed by English troops, and as the Reformation occurred only ten years later, the monks never had a proper chance to rebuild the abbey and revive their dwindling numbers.

Collective title: Hutton Drawings > [Volume 2] > Roxburghshire

More details about the album and its contents can be found on the collection website.