Balmerino Abbey

In December 1547 it was burned by an English force, and allegedly damaged again in 1559 by Scottish Protestants as part of the Reformation's destruction of perceived idolatrous structures.

The community appears to have died out shortly afterwards, with the estate being made into a temporal lordship in 1603 (other sources give 1605 or 1606-7) for Sir James Elphistone, who became 1st Lord Balmerino.

The abbey is now under the stewardship of the National Trust for Scotland, and a small entrance fee is requested at an honesty box, with no ticket booth or staffed presence on-site.

In the 15th century, a new and larger chapter house was added, with four bays of high vaulting round a central pier (as can still be seen at Glasgow Cathedral or Glenluce Abbey).

[citation needed] As of summer 2007, a sign on-site states that entrance fees will be used to contribute towards a possible future stabilization of these ruins to improve safety for visitors to enter once again.