It has already been mentioned that the building of the church does not appear to have suffered from any outbreak at the Reformation; but the fabric has been damaged to a considerable extent. The town was subjected to a siege in 1548, when it was held by the English after the battle of Pinkie, and was attacked and taken by the Scots and their French allies. It is not unlikely that the church may have suffered damage at that time, as it is stated that certain of the chapels did. BALMERINO ABBEY,[176] FIFESHIRE. The few fragments which survive of this once extensive structure stand on a height overlooking the Frith of Tay from its south or Fife shore, about three or four miles south-west from Dundee. The Cistercian Abbey of Balmerino was founded in the year 1229 by Queen Ermengard, widow of William the Lion, and her son, Alexander II. The foundation charter by the latter is dated 3rd February 1230-1. The abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to the most holy King Edward. Queen Ermengard obtained possession of the adjoining lands in the year 1225, and it is supposed that building operations were commenced immediately after the foundation, as on the 13th December 1229, the original colony of monks for Balmerino set out from Melrose under the guidance of Alan, the first abbot. The building must probably then have made some progress to be in a fit state for their occupation. Ermengard died in 1233 and was buried in the church, and, according to Spottiswoode, her place of sepulture was before the high altar. She was a liberal benefactress to the abbey, and Alexander, her son, took a continued interest in its affairs after her death, and was a frequent visitor at Balmerino. During the time of Ralph, the second abbot (1236-1251), the abbey received the first confirmation of its privileges and possessions from Pope Innocent IV. It is undated, but the Rev. Dr. Campbell, in his account of the abbey, assigns its date to between 1242 and 1246. About the last decade of the thirteenth century, Hugo of Nydie grants the use of his quarry of Nydie to the abbey, and also a toft, with the privilege of grazing on the common pasture of Nydie. Dr. Campbell conjectures that as the journey between the quarry and Balmerino was too long to be performed both ways on the same day, the toft would form the lodging for the men, and the pasturage for the draught animals. In this connection William of Burglyn grants “that old road through his land of Burthlyn, by which the monks were wont to go with their carts and other carriages to the quarry of Nidyn;” and further, “if it shall happen that the carts and waggons of the monks shall at any time halt at the ford of Burglyn on account of any hindrance in crossing, he grants them permission in such a case to unyoke and feed their beasts there, and, if necessary, to stay over the night.”[177]