CULROSS ABBEY, PERTHSHIRE. The lofty tower of this venerable abbey stands out prominently on the top of the wooded bank of the Forth, about eight miles below Alloa and six miles from Dunfermline. It is situated in a detached portion of Perthshire. The small, but ancient, town of Culross, which owes its origin to the abbey, clusters below it on the slope of the hill, and along its base at the river side. In the seventeenth century the town took a great development, owing to the collieries and other industries established by Sir George Bruce, and the harbour was crowded with shipping. But during the present century this commercial activity has entirely disappeared, and the little town has relapsed into a quiet, old-fashioned place, still, however, full of interest and picturesqueness. Amongst its ancient buildings are the “Study,” the Tolbooth, and the “Palace,” which have been described in the _Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland_, Vol. II. p. 432, and Vol. V. pp. 25 and 119. The town is also prolific in ecclesiastical structures, of which the remains of no less than three still exist. The principal of these is the abbey. The others consist of the ruins of the ancient parish church, situated about a mile to the west, and the remnants of the Church of St. Mungo, which lie at the base of the slope a short way to the east of the town. The abbey was founded, in 1217, by Malcolm, third Earl of Fife. Almost nothing is known of its history, but it is believed to occupy the site hallowed by the memory of St. Mungo and his reputed preceptor, St. Serf or Servanus. St. Mungo is, by tradition, said to have been born on the shore of the Forth at this place, whither his mother was miraculously brought by a storm, and to have been nurtured and trained by St. Serf, an ancient Celtic ecclesiastic, already settled at Culross. This story, however, is discarded by Dr. Skene, who maintains that St. Mungo or Kentigern died in 603, while Servanus did not found the Church of Culross till the end of the seventh century. This ancient foundation was apparently revived by Earl Malcolm, who introduced a body of Cistercian monks from Kinloss, of which abbey, Hugh, the first prior, was abbot. From the evidence of the architecture it is apparent that the establishment founded by Earl Malcolm was erected in the thirteenth century. Considerable remains of that period, and some walls of what might be regarded as of earlier date, are still traceable; but the principal parts of the existing church, which has been much altered, are of considerably later date.