Clova Monastery

Clova Monastery stands in Kildrummy, Aberdeenshire, on the left bank of the Little Mill Burn. A prehistoric settlement once occupied the site, with earth houses found nearby. The monastery was founded in the late sixth century by Saint Moluag, a pre-Columban missionary sent from Bangor in Ulster. Nearby, traces remain of St Luke’s church and Sammiluak’s well. Four stone crosses from the old churchyard now stand at Clova House, relics of the early Celtic monastery. The site lies about half a mile south of an eighteenth-century building called Clova House. Clova was home to a Culdee community for six centuries. The monks lived in austere conditions, sleeping on stone beds or straw-covered boards. They worked in groups: seniors, working brethren, and juniors under instruction. The monks wore long shirts with hooded upper garments and white surplices for festivals. They practised Laus perennis, singing prayers day and night. Some retreated to hermitages on the hillsides, including a stone thought to be Moluag’s personal retreat. Today the site shows earth houses and faint church foundations. The stone crosses at Clova House recall the monastery’s early days. The surrounding hills still hold the remains of hermitages. A stone called Moluag’s Chair looks toward the old monastery. The place carries the memory of a busy religious community that shaped the area’s early Christian life.