Brechin Monastery

Brechin Monastery was a Culdee religious house in Angus, Scotland. It stood near Brechin Cathedral, built in the twelfth century. The monastery was founded in the tenth century under King Kenneth II. No building survives today, only fragments and cross slabs. A round tower nearby is from the same period. The cathedral now displays some of the stones found on the site. The monastery was once the centre of the Celtic Church in Angus and Mearns. It was led by lay abbots whose names survive from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. David I replaced the Culdees with Augustinian canons in the twelfth century. The monastery became a priory by the thirteenth century. The Culdees and the bishop both held Sunday market rights. Visitors find the twelfth-century Brechin Cathedral nearby. Inside, fragments and cross slabs from the monastery are on display. The Irish-style round tower stands just west of the cathedral. The Aldbar Stone, with carvings of monks and beasts, is also shown. The Mary Stone, with a Latin inscription, and an eleventh-century hogback tombstone are kept there. The stones show the monastery’s art and history.