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"putting Lesmahagow on the Map !"
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Plate 1.West tower ofthe Priory which survived as Tower ofpost-Reformation Parish Church until 1803.
From drawing signed Hutton dated 1785.By permission of the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland.
The village lies to the W of, and near to, the main Carlisle^Glasgow road which follows a line of natural communication (fig. 2). The land immediately to the W of the village rises quite steeply to the 750 ft contour, and there are a number of natural springs which issue from the hillside. At the S end of the village the Kilnhall Burn joins the Nethan at Turholm Bridge. From here a lade was led off the river to flow NE past the site of the priory on its E side to rejoin the Nethan N of the village. The lade is now filled in and piped (fig. 3). The sheltered aspect of the site, the adequate water supply, the local source of stone, timber and good neighbouring agricultural land must have contributed to the suitability of the locality as a site for settlement. One drawback to the site which was encountered at an early date and which is still prevalent is the high water-table and the periodic flooding by the Nethan.
History
Lesmahagow Priory was a daughter house of Kelso Abbey which belonged to the Order of Tiron. The founder of the Order was Bernard (c. 1069-1117), who had been originally a monk of St. Cyprian's Monastery at Poitiers and subsequently its Prior. After disputes with the Abbey of Cluny concerning Cluny's claims to jurisdiction over St. Cyprian's, Bernard with a few followers retired first to near Savigny and then to Chaussey. Together they founded the monastery at Tiron in the diocese ofChartr
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