Elcho Priory

Elcho Priory was a medieval Cistercian priory in Perthshire, Scotland, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Elcho Priory was located in the parish of Rhynd about three miles southeast of Perth on the south bank of the River Tay. It was the only Cistercian convent in Scotland north of the Firth of Forth. It was a mile west of Elcho Castle. In addition to its own land, the priory rented nearby lands, one being part of the Hill of Coates, which was behind the nunnery. The nunnery church stood on the north side of the site, aligned east-west with entrance on the west. It originally measured 7 m. wide x 15 m. long but was expanded in a second phase of building to 8 m. x 21 m. The priory was located in the western portion of the barony of Elcho, which, with Elcho Castle, was held by the Wemyss family. Before the Reformation, the reciprocal relationship between the two was that the laird of Wemyss would provide protection for the nuns during periods of English invasion, and, in return, the priory leased certain of its lands to him.

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