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Kelso Abbey safe to reopen ahead of 900th anniversary

Thomas MartinBBC Scotland News
News imageBBC A line-up of people behind a blue and white ribbon which has been cut by Scotland's First Minister John SwinneyBBC
First Minister John Swinney cut the ribbon to reopen the abbey

A Borders abbey has reopened following a five-year forced closure due to unsafe sections of masonry.

Kelso Abbey's gates were locked after inspections in 2021 identified areas of concern on the 12th Century building.

Community campaigning led to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) conducting extensive repairs and consolidation earlier this year.

First Minister John Swinney, who cut the ribbon, said: "This is an abbey of enormous historic significance in the history of Scotland and the religious story of our country."

News imageHES The historic Kelso Abbey - a ruined building on grassland with trees around itHES
Kelso Abbey had been closed to the public due to safety concerns

Kelso is the oldest of the four Borders abbeys - founded in 1128 by Benedctine monks at the invite of King David I.

In 1460 the young James III was crowned within the abbey, after the death of his father James II during the siege of nearby Roxburgh.

Although badly damaged in the years following the Reformation, the ruins of the abbeys in Kelso, Jedburgh, Melrose and Dryburgh have become popular tourist attractions.

Mr Swinney added: "I'm so pleased that the collaborative efforts of HES and the community here in Kelso have resulted in its reopening."

News imageHES Two people in hard hats on a raised platform examine the stonework of Kelso AbbeyHES
HES said its team had "worked tirelessly" to make the reopening possible

Extensive repairs have been carried out at the abbey earlier this year, including masonry consolidation, netting and repointing.

Further high-level masonry inspections are to take place ahead of Kelso's 900th anniversary in 2028, and also help form a longer-term management strategy.

HES director Roger Curtis said: "It took a lot of resource and hard work, and I want to thank everyone on the team who worked tirelessly to make it possible.

"We also want to thank the local community for their patience and support while these vital works were carried out.

"The abbey is at the heart of Kelso, and we are proud to care for and protect it for current and future generations."

News imageA metal block in the brickwork of Kelso Abbey to help hold it in place
A wide range of repair work has been carried out

Several community groups have lobbied HES in recent years to have the abbey reopened.

The Duke of Roxburghe, who chairs the Kelso 900 group, believes the reopening will allow it to forge ahead with plans for anniversary celebrations.

He said it marked an "exciting new chapter".

"I hope people from across Scotland and beyond will come to rediscover this remarkable place as we begin the countdown to the abbey's 900th anniversary in 2028," he said.

He said it remained "one of the greatest treasures of the Scottish Borders".

Ian Aitchison, trustee of the Kelso Heritage Society, said: "To quote Churchill it's not the beginning of the end it's the end of the beginning.

"It is now about maintaining the opening so that we can not just have a 900th anniversary but a 1,000th."

He said a lot of plans were in motion and they would love to look at potentially using virtual reality to bring the place back to life as it would have been at its peak.