Get a taste of the history of Whithorn Priory, home to St Ninian’s shrine, and find out what to see at Whithorn Priory Museum and the Whithorn Story.

Delve into the history of Whithorn Priory, the Latinus Stone and St Ninian’s shrine, and learn of the priory’s popularity and its post-Reformation decline. Known as Scotland’s ‘cradle of Christianity’, Whithorn Priory was a centre of Christian worship for more than 1,000 years.

2024年3月28日 · Find out about Whithorn Priory and Museum admission prices and view opening times for Whithorn Priory and Museum.

2023年9月11日 · Whithorn Priory and Museum is open from Sunday to Friday, 11am to 4pm (closed for lunch 12.30pm to 1.30pm), until 31 October. The priory nave is open year-round. Visitors are encouraged to book tickets before visiting.

Find out about access to Whithorn Priory for visitors with disabilities, including car parking, approach, and monument and visitor centre access.

Excavations have revealed graves spanning the 11th to 14th centuries beneath the east end of the priory church, including the burials of many 13th-14th century Whithorn bishops, some accompanied by exceptional grave goods including chalices and the Whithorn crosier.

Dryburgh became the premier house in Scotland of the French order, which was established by St Norbert of Xanten in 1121 at Prémontré. Its six Scottish houses also included Whithorn Priory. Dryburgh was never as wealthy or influential as the abbeys at Kelso, Jedburgh and Melrose, and monastic life was on the whole pretty quiet.

Get a taste of the history of Whithorn Priory, home to St Ninian’s shrine, and find out what to see at Whithorn Priory Museum and the Whithorn Story.

The encircled cross appears repeatedly on St Ninian’s Cave sculpture, and bears similarities both to the encircled cross-of-arcs on 2 and to the heads of the ‘Whithorn School’ crosses. The shafted cross is similar to seven crosses cut into the rock wall of the cave.

Whithorn Priory is a Scheduled Ancient Monument No 3851. The graveyard now covers the ground intervening between the nave and chapels of the 13th century priory church, and the Parish Church to N (listed separately) is sited on ground formerly graced by the E range.