Foundation The foundation of the priory is accredited to
Uchtred (d.1174) who had co-ruled
Galloway with his brother
Gille Brigte. Uchtred did not have the benefit of the relative peace of his father's reign in Galloway.
Fergus of Galloway (d.1161) had founded such establishments such as
Soulseat Abbey,
St Mary's Isle Priory,
Dundrennan Abbey, the foundation at
Kirkcudbright (Kirk of
St. Cuthbert) and re-established the foundation at
Whithorn, the historic community of
St Ninian. Uchtred's focus of power was in eastern Galloway, while his brother's was in the west. Their reigns were marked by turbulent relationships between themselves, the Irish
Kings of Ailech, the
King of Scots,
William the Lyon, and the
King of England,
Henry II. Lincluden was the only monastic house that Uchtred would found, meeting his death at the hand of his brother in 1174. Prior to the foundation of Lincluden, there had been only been houses of Monks in Galloway, Uchtred's new house was the first nunnery within the Lordship. The first intake of
religieuses were probably
Cluniac sisters from France or England, later being supplemented by local novices.
Douglas patronage In the late 14th century the area became part of the fief of
Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway, and latterly 3rd Earl of Douglas. Using claims that the nuns at Lincluden had reputedly broken their vows of chastity and were guilty of licentious behaviour, of which there was no proof, sat in judgement over them and found them guilty. He dismissed the nuns from the priory. Earl Archibald ordered the construction of a new church, and set up a
College consisting of a
Provost and twelve
Canons. Following the capture of
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas at
Battle of Homildon Hill, and his later capture at the
Battle of Shrewsbury, the Earl spent some time as a prisoner of
Henry IV of England where he struck up a friendship with the King. This is evidenced by an open letter of 20 April 1408 from Henry to all his northern castellans. This forbids them, should they enter Scotland for military purposes, from harming or damaging persons or property pertaining to the College of Lincluden for a period of three years. Earl Archibald and his successors spent a great deal of money on ornamenting the church, and there are many fine armorial carvings still within the ruins. Still extant is the tomb of Princess Margaret, Countess of Douglas and Duchess of Touraine, the daughter of
Robert III of Scotland and wife of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas. The buildings survived destruction at the Reformation in 1560. The last Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day 1585, organised by
Lord Maxwell. The last provost,
Robert Douglas, left about 1590, ownership then passed to the Catholic Maxwells of Terregles. The collegiate church's domestic ranges were converted into a tower house, which was abandoned by the late 1600s.
Thomas Pennant in his
A Tour of Scotland, and Voyage to the Hebrides in 1772 wrote, (of
Princess ''Margaret's tomb
) " her bones till lately, were scattered about in a most indecent manner by some wretches who broke open the repository in search of treasure."'' In 1882 the owner Capt Maxwell of
Terregles had the ruins cleaned up and fenced off and a caretaker installed in lodge on site. In 1922 the ruins were taken into state care. In recent years the ruins have again suffered from vandalism. It was reported that used engine oil had been poured over the effigy of Princess Margaret. Following this incident the effigy was removed in 1999 for conservation and protection and replaced with a fibreglass replica. == Robert Burns at Lincluden ==