Ruins of Holyrood Abbey

The Palace of Holyrood is the Queen's official residence in Scotland (which will be my nexpt post) but the property was originally home to an abbey. It was partially demolished and abandoned centuries ago because it kept being raided by troops during English and Scottish battles (call it a victim of back-and-forth changes in religion that mark UK history). It has been left standing as a ruin and many artists have been inspired by it over the years. It is easy to see why.

This window used to have stained glass in it and was a later addition to the church. Originally, the main area of the church was twice the size it is today.

There have been a number of alterations to the abbey, some of them decorative and others were structural. Flying buttresses were added to it when it became appartent that the walls were slowly collapsing.

There also would have been massive pillars through-out the church to hold up the ceiling. Some of them are still standing, while for others only stubs remain.