Abbot House, the main entrance
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Abbot House in Dunfermline is set close to the Carngie Library and Dunfermline Abbey. With its salmon pink façade it cannot be missed. Nowadays it functions as a café and a heritage centre. It has its own gorgeous garden.
The site where the Abbot House stands was originally part of the abbey complex. The first house constructed here was a two storey rectangular block around 1450. However, the first owner is known just in 1550, it was the town’s treasurer William Coupar, master’s blacksmith. A fairy ruinous building was renovated two decades later by its next owner, James Murray of Purdieu. He also changed the shape of the building to Z shape by adding two stair towers at the north-west and south-east corners. Thanks to its sturdy stone and slate construction it was not destroyed by big fire that swept through Dunfermline in 1624.
Over the following centuries has been extended. From the 18th century the house began to split up and it had several owners and tenants. In its time it has been an Abbot's home, a laird's mansion, an iron foundry and an art school. From 1989 many people wanted the house to become a heritage centre showcasing Dunfermline’s history. With the help of Dunfermline Carnegie Trust they succeeded in 1995. The displays in the upper rooms provide a step back through thousands of years of Scottish history. The story of Abbot House begins with the audio-visual presentation, ‘The Spirit in the Stones’, where a friendly ghost recounts the house’s history. Abbot House is filled with memorabilia of Queen Margaret, wife of King Malcolm III and mother of three subsequent Scottish Kings.
The Abbot House Café on the ground floor is in original barrel-vaulted rooms. It is opened every day and it serves all breakfast, lunch or evening tea. Next to the café there is a gift shop.
There is also a wide range of cultural events taking place in the Abbot House. To mention some: regular monthly lectures covering history and heritage of Dufermline or series of concerts featuring wide variety of singers, songwriters and music performers.
The site where the Abbot House stands was originally part of the abbey complex. The first house constructed here was a two storey rectangular block around 1450. However, the first owner is known just in 1550, it was the town’s treasurer William Coupar, master’s blacksmith. A fairy ruinous building was renovated two decades later by its next owner, James Murray of Purdieu. He also changed the shape of the building to Z shape by adding two stair towers at the north-west and south-east corners. Thanks to its sturdy stone and slate construction it was not destroyed by big fire that swept through Dunfermline in 1624.
Over the following centuries has been extended. From the 18th century the house began to split up and it had several owners and tenants. In its time it has been an Abbot's home, a laird's mansion, an iron foundry and an art school. From 1989 many people wanted the house to become a heritage centre showcasing Dunfermline’s history. With the help of Dunfermline Carnegie Trust they succeeded in 1995. The displays in the upper rooms provide a step back through thousands of years of Scottish history. The story of Abbot House begins with the audio-visual presentation, ‘The Spirit in the Stones’, where a friendly ghost recounts the house’s history. Abbot House is filled with memorabilia of Queen Margaret, wife of King Malcolm III and mother of three subsequent Scottish Kings.
The Abbot House Café on the ground floor is in original barrel-vaulted rooms. It is opened every day and it serves all breakfast, lunch or evening tea. Next to the café there is a gift shop.
There is also a wide range of cultural events taking place in the Abbot House. To mention some: regular monthly lectures covering history and heritage of Dufermline or series of concerts featuring wide variety of singers, songwriters and music performers.