In 1273 Lady Devorgilla, a descendent of king David I of Scotland, established a new Cistercian Abbey here in memory of her husband, John Balliol (a founder of Balliol College, Oxford), who had died four years earlier. After her death in 1289 she was buried here, and on her instructions the casket containing her husband's heart was buried beside her.

Sweetheart Abbey ceased to be an active religious community as a result of The Reformation, the final significant blow to the community being in 1608 when the Abbot's belongings were publicly burned in Dumfries and he was exiled to France, where he died four years later. After this date the abbey buildings declined, its stone being used by local people for other purposes.
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