Lesmahagow Priory

Infobox monastery
name =Lesmahagow Priory

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caption =
full =Priory of the Virgin Mary of Lesmahagow
other_names =
order =Tironensian
established =1144
disestablished =c. 1607
mother =Kelso Abbey (dependency)
diocese =
churches =
founder =David I, King of the Scots, and John, Bishop of Glasgow
dedication = Virgin Mary & Machutas
people =
location =Lesmahagow, now in South Lanarkshire, Scotland
coord =
oscoor =
remains =
public_access =

Lesmahagow Priory was a medieval Tironensian monastic community located in modern South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was founded after John, Bishop of Glasgow and King David I of Scotland granted lands at Lesmahagow to Kelso Abbey with which to establish a new priory. It remained a dependency of Kelso Abbey. Control of the abbey was gradually secularized in the 16th century. Along with Kelso Abbey, it was turned into a secular lordship in 1607 for Robert Ker of Cesford, later earl of Roxburghe. Lesmahagow however passed into the hand of James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton in 1623.

The Abbeygreen Church of the Church of Scotland lies opposite the Glebe Park in Lesmahagow and was opened in 1844. Lesmahagow Old Parish Church lies on the site of the priory church and was built in its present form in 1803.

Abbeygreen Church

Parish church
name = Abbeygreen Church


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dedication =
denomination = Church of Scotland
tradition = Christian, Protestant, Presbyterian, Evangelical, Reformed
parish = Abbeygreen Parish
deanery =
archdeaconry =
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province =
presbytery = Lanark
archbishop =
bishop =
dean =
prebendary =
provost =
canon =
priest =
vicar =
vicar1 =
rector =
curate =
curate1 =
minister = Rev. David S. Carmichael
assistant =
honpriest =
deacon =
pastor =
organistdom =
organist =
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website = [http://www.abbeygreen.org.uk/ Abbeygreen] , [http://www.scottishreformedconference.org/ Scottish Reformed Conference]
coordinates = coord|55.6408|N|3.8867|W

Abbeygreen Church is a thriving, reformed, evangelical congregration of the Church of Scotland in the town of Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire. It lies opposite the Glebe Park on Abbeygreen. The neighbouring church, the Old Parish Church of Lesmahagow was built, in its present form, in 1803 on the site of the old priory.

Abbeygreen Church was born out of the Disruption of 1843. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland of May 1843 saw some four hundred and seventy four ministers leave the Church of Scotland to "come out to form the glorious Free Church of Scotland". The minister of the Parish Church of Lesmahagow at the time was the Rev. Dr Andrew Borland Parker. The Sunday following the General Assembly of 1843 saw Dr Parker preach his last sermon in the Parish Church. Intending to begin an exposition in the Book of Exodus, Dr Parker declared "I can no longer continue in connection with an establishment which has virtually denied the Kingly office of Christ". Dr Parker, five elders and eight hundred communicants left the Church of Scotland and the Parish Church at the formation of the Free Church. A plot of land was obtained, opposite the Glebe fields, from the Duke of Hamilton, and the foundation stone was laid in August 1843. On the 15th of February 1844 Abbeygreen Free Church was opened to the Glory of God, free of debt and without the aid of the Free Church central fund.

The ministry of Dr Parker continued until 1855. On the 16th of May 1856 a probationer minister, the Rev. James Laing was ordained and induced. Mr Laing continued as the minster in Abbeygreen until the 25th of February 1872. His successor, the Rev James Arthur Gray was ordained on the 22nd of November 1872. Abbeygreen became a branch of the United Free Church of Scotland at the joining of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church in 1900. Mr Gray continued as the minister until his retiral in 1927. On the 27th of October 1927, the Rev. John Walker MA. was ordained as minister of Abbeygreen. At the start of his ministry, in 1929, the United Presbyterian Church reunited with the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland having been reconstituted to honour the principles of the Disruption, through the abolishment of patronage, in 1874, and by further Acts of Parliament in 1921 and 1925. Mr Walker's ministry ended in May 1939.

Mr Walker was followed by the Rev T.F. Neill. Mr Neill was ordained on the 25th of January 1940. Late in 1940, Mr Morton, the minister of the neighbouring Cordiner Church became seriously ill. The Cordiner Church was founded as the Lesmahagow Relief Church in 1837 and took its name from its second minister, the Rev. Robert Cordiner, who served it from 1846 until 1897. Abbeygreen and the Cordiner Church had long enjoyed a mutually supportive relationship and so the members of the Cordiner church were invited to temporarily join with Abbeygreen in worship. In June 1941 members of the Cordiner met with the congregation of Abbeygreen to discuss union of the two churches and in July 1941, the two churches united. The sessions united and a congregational board was formed, with the last meeting of the old Deacons Court of Abbeygreen taking place on the first of July 1941. This action represents the creation of the present day constitution of Abbeygreen, Church of Scotland, being led through elected members of the Congregational Board and ordained elders forming the Kirk Session. Mr Neill served the church intil 1953 when he was called to Cranhill in Glasgow. On the 6th of April 1954, the Rev Robert B.W. Walker MB, ChB was inducted as minister of Abbeygreen. Dr Walker continued in the ministry until ill health forced him to demit his charge at the end of October 1981. Following a long vacancy, a probationer minister, the Rev. David S. Carmichael was ordained and inducted on the 2nd of September 1982 where he has continued as a faithful servant of God and of His people. Through the whole history of Abbeygreen church, one thing has been foremost and that is, by the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit, seeking to honour and worship God and to humbly serve His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church.

"The name 'Lesmahagow' is derived from the Church of St Machutius. Machutius was a contemporary of St Brendan, there being a religious foundation connected with the saint in the village since the Culdees (Celtic monks) came sometime before David I founded a Tironensian Priory in 1144. Remains of the priory, which was a daughter house of Kelso, lie next to Lesmahagow Old Parish Church. The Tironensians were farmers and craftsmen and their order was somewhat similar to the Cistercians. The visible remains consist of part of the cloisters, the refectory and the lay brothers' quarters. The priory had various functions including the provision of sanctuary and accommodation for pensioners, but all this came to a rapid end at the end of the reformation.
Lesmahagow Old Parish Church lies on the site of the priory church and was built in its present form in 1803. Its graveyard is interesting for its Covenanting connections as it contains the grave of Alexander Stuart of Underbank who was executed in 1684. David Steel (ancestor of the Liberal MP) was murdered in 1688 also lies here."

"Source: [http://www.theguidlife.net/tools/download/49/lesmahagow.pdf South Lanarkshire Rural Partnership, Community Research Project, Lesmahagow Report.] " Note this Community Research Project Report contains factual errors confusing Abbeygreen Church with the Old Parish Church of Lesmahagow. It is, in fact, the Old Parish Church which is situated on the site of the Priory.

Bibliography

* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., "Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man", Second Edition, (London, 1976), p. 69
* Watt, D.E.R. & Shead, N.F. (eds.), "The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries", The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24, (Edinburgh, 2001), pp. 134-6

ee also

* Prior of Lesmahagow, for a list of priors and commendators