Outwith the cloister : wider-precinct buildings in Scottish monasteries c.1070-1560

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to collate and analyse information on wider-precinct buildings in Scottish monasteries c.1070-1560; all monasteries founded within this period in Scotland are included, regardless of religious order. This study discusses different genres of wider-precinct building in turn, seeking to determine where in Scotland each type of building can be found, in what quantity it survives and how it was experienced by the medieval monk. Also important is how wider-precinct spaces developed during the monastic period. Consideration is given to ambiguous precinctual remains with the aim of suggesting what their purpose could have been. After an introduction and literature review which define the parameters of the investigation, the first chapter focusses on buildings in the wider precinct which were used to house and manage residents and visitors; these include abbots’ and commendators’ houses, infirmaries and guest houses. The second chapter, ‘Agriculture in the Precinct’, covers buildings related to grain- and livestock-farming which might be found in the precinct as well as evidence of gardens and orchards, and in the third the same treatment is given to buildings and sites used for light-industrial activities such as baking, brewing and tanning. The fourth chapter discusses the networks which surrounded and crossed the precinct, especially walls and access points as well as water and drainage systems. Concluding thoughts are found at the end of the thesis.