Restenneth Priory

Restenneth Priory stands among old trees in farmland near Forfar, and is the best surviving example in Scotland of a small Augustinian priory layout. Tradition links it to a Pictish church of the early 700s, and it was probably founded in the early 1100s by Malcolm III and St Margaret; Malcolm IV is said to have set up the Augustinian priory, later a daughter house of Jedburgh Abbey. Robert the Bruce buried his infant son John, twin of the future David II, here. Its 14-metre tower shows three periods of building: a porch of about 1100 at the base, raised later in the 1100s, and topped in the 1400s by an octagonal splay-footed spire. The roofless choir and nave beside it date from the 1200s. A fenced grass path leads from a tiny car park beside a house. Some areas are fenced off for safety and there is no access inside the buildings, but the ruins and spire can be seen up close.