Tongland

Title

Tongland

Also Known As

Tongeland, Tongelland, Tongellant, Toungland, Tuglandia, Tungelonge, Tungland

Dates

Founded ca. 1218; dissolved 16th c.

Affiliation

Cockersand

Medieval Diocese

Galloway

Circary

Scotland

History

Tongland was founded ca. 1218 by Alan, lord of Galloway, and his wife Margaret of Huntingdon. Its history is obscure. Members of the community were killed during an insurrection in Galloway in the 1230s.

Tongland was suppressed at the Reformation. Some ruins are still visible on the site today, incorporated into the fabric of a later church.

Heads of Community

Abbots

Helias, ca. 1218-ca. 1222
Caducan, fl. 1225
Alexander, 1273-1296
Elias, fl. 1307
Walter, 1332-1347
Gilbert I, fl. 1381
James Herries?, 1411-ca. 1429?
Gilbert II de Gamdia, fl. 1439
Gilbert III MacDowell, fl. 1458
Patrick MacChaquhirky (or MacCathroge), ca. 1458-ca. 1473
William Douglas, 1473-ca. 1479
Thomas Livingston, 1479-1481
William Wylie, 1481
Andrew Muirhead, 1481-1483
Damien de Falcutiis, 1504-1509
David I Arnot, 1510-1525
David II, fl. 1525

Status

Abbey

Bibliography

Kirkcudbright History Society. “Tongland Abbey Excavations: Recent Findings,” February 15, 2019. https://www.kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk/news/tongland-abbey-excavations-recent-findings-2/.

Image Credit

Tongland Church, 2005. Wikimedia.

Files

Collection

Scotland

Citation

“Tongland,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/197.

Geolocation

Item Relations

This Item DependentOn Item: Cockersand
Item: Senwick DependentOn This Item
Item: Leswalt DependentOn This Item
Item: Balnacross DependentOn This Item