Originally the site was occupied by a convent of Black or Benedictine nuns, which was founded in the twelfth century by Uchtred, son of Fergus, Lord of Galloway, who endowed the convent with lands.[142] Of this establishment only trifling remains can be traced. The edifice whose ruins now exist was founded anew, about the end of the fourteenth century, by Archibald the Grim, Earl of Douglas and Lord of Galloway. He is said to have expelled the nuns on account of their “insolence;” but it is also recorded that he acquired considerable possessions by the transaction. Be this as it may, the earl showed his devotion by rebuilding the church and endowing a new establishment. The new foundation consisted of a collegiate church, with the necessary domestic structures. It comprised at first a provost and twelve canons, Elise, or Elias, being appointed the first provost in 1404. The second provost was named Cairns, and under him the college consisted of eight canons, twenty-four bedesmen, and a chaplain.[143] The surviving remains of the domestic buildings for the accommodation of the inmates extend in the form of a long wing to the north of the church (Fig. 799). These now consist of a series of vaulted cellars, dimly lighted with one small loophole in each, and entered by a few steps down from the ground level. On the floor above the cellars there was probably a large hall; and at the north end a portion rose into a keep or tower, which probably formed the residence of the provost (Fig. 800). In Grose’s _Views_, drawn in 1789, the tower is shown much more complete than it now is, a large part having tumbled down a good many years ago. The staircase turret on the west side was also much higher at the end of last century, having fallen so recently as 1851. It bore the royal arms and the arms of Provost William Stewart. These out-buildings would thus appear to have been built about the beginning of the sixteenth century. Foundations of other structures are observable, which probably formed a courtyard to the west; while, on the eastern side, the outline of a wall which enclosed a considerable space of ground can be traced in the grass-grown mounds. There is a high mound adjoining to the south-east, which had a winding path leading to the summit, and from which an extensive view can be obtained over the level country around. It is believed that Lincluden was a frequent residence of the Earls of Douglas. They were the Wardens of the Western Marches; and a parliament of the Border chiefs was held here in 1468 by Earl William, in order to revise the laws of Border warfare. [Illustration: FIG. 799.--Lincluden College. Plan.] [Illustration: FIG. 800.--Lincluden College. View from South-East.]