John Slezer's Engravings of Scotland

Crossraguel - 'The Ruines of ye Abby of Corsregal'

This prospect of Crossraguel Abbey in Ayrshire is another example of Slezer using a number of drawings from different positions to make up a composite view. In reality, the dovecote (doocot) on the left should be even further left, but Slezer has moved it nearer to his viewpoint.

Crossraguel was originally founded by the Cluniac Abbey of Paisley in 1215, and had an active religious life until the Reformation in the 16th century. Although few roofs are left, much of the walls of the abbey buildings were remarkably intact in Slezer's time.

Slezer uses an unusual form of the abbey name in his title, which derives from the nearby Cross of Riaghail.

Image from Theatrum Scotiae by John Slezer, 1693.