The abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1136 on the fertile plains of the River Tweed. After much ransacking, it was rebuilt in the 14C by Robert the Bruce, whose heart is buried here. The community prospered, becoming one of the richest in Scotland, before it was secularised and fell into decline. The ruins were restored on the initiative of Walter Scott from 1822 to 1826, which resulted in the preservation of the magnificent decorative sculpture.