Despite the fact that early medieval Scotland made a significant contribution to religious sculpture, not very much has survived to the present day. Ecclesiastical architecture had, however, been started before the twelfth century, under the leadership of the Canmore Kings.

Especial praise must be given to King David I, who grew up in England alongside his brother-in-law, King Henry I of England. David was inspired by the architecture of English churches, which were the most advanced of their time. While in England he acquired a thorough knowledge of different designs that were used in religious architecture at that time. The influence of these designs on David can easily be detected in the churches that were either built directly under his supervision or by his followers.

At St.Margaret’s in Dunfermline, his mother's favourite church and burial place, in 1128 he brought up an abbot from Canterbury to be at its head. He liberally increased the amount of money given to the church and increased its size. The mason whom he used to design the improvements was probably brought from Durham, along with a sizeable number of masons from other parts of northern England, drawn north by new opportunities and ideas. These masons made a huge contribution by bringing new building ideas north of the border.

While David I was the first King to build abbeys and monasteries in Scotland, Malcolm IV, William the Lion, Alexander II and Alexander III all carried on his great work using royal revenue raised from the burghs to establish Jedburgh, Dryburgh, Edinburgh, Arbroath, Dunfermline and other smaller abbeys.

The new buildings changed the Church. Instead of living alongside the people and being ready to help them in their suffering, the grand buildings in which they worshipped began to set apart the priests. A feudal Church came into being, with overlords and underlings. Everything became much more formal with ordinary men having to pray to their God from the other side of a screen made by man.

Building the abbey.

• Foundation trenches were dug deep in the clay. On a concrete bed of mortar and small stones the foundations were laid, block by block, course by course, within the trenches until ground level was reached.

• On this solid base they built the very high walls, using finely dressed stonework into which they regularly placed tall windows with graceful arches. It took many years to reach the height of the eaves.

• Meanwhile, the glassmakers worked at their furnaces to make glass of every colour from which to fashion the windows. The glass was cut in pieces to match their plan and joined by strips of lead to form panes. These were braced by iron rods and fixed into the stone mouldings that trimmed and sometimes divided the window spaces.

• In the sheds of the master carpenters great doors were fashioned which would be hung on the blacksmith’s iron hinges and held secure by his iron locks.

• Men standing on top of the completed walls hoisted huge timbers on straining ropes and from these beams carpenters made huge frames to bear the weight of the massive roof. The slim walls were heavily buttressed to bear the weight also.

• In the foundries master metalsmiths cast bells of bronze for the belfry.

Inside the abbey church the congregation would marvel at the lofty arches of the vaulted ceiling, the jewelled glitter of gold and silver ornaments and the richness of the drapes and other furnishings. A beautiful screen of carved stone would divide them from the most holy parts including the Cross. For the poor, living in wattle and mud huts, the House of God must have been an amazing sight!

The Augustinian Abbey in Jedburgh was one of the most dramatic examples of the revolutionary movement within the Scottish churches. Founded in 1138, it bore a strong resemblance to churches in the south and west of England. The church had two levels of internal openings below large arches and bore a particular resemblance to a nunnery church in Hampshire where David I had stayed before his sister married Henry I of England.

It was not just the abbeys that benefited from David’s passion for ecclesiastical building. Parish churches were built too, especially in the lowlands. Unfortunately very few of these churches have survived and the number that are left are in varied states of repair. These do show, however, that those in wealthier areas were capable of finding highly skilled masons to build their churches and though they may be small in size, they are fantastic in quality.

All of the churches that are left are divided very distinctly. The clergy only were admitted to the chancel while the nave held the rest. In some churches they were little more than two rectangular enclosures linked together, but we suspect that the more important parts may have been adorned with decorative carvings. If a parish was on the land of a wealthy laird then the church could have been privileged with a central bell tower and an apse, a semi-circular area that protruded from the main body of the church to draw attention to the main altar.

The early cathedrals do not seem to have been as enduring as their parish counterparts and there is very little evidence of them today. The only one extant is Kirkwall Cathedral on Orkney. Orkney of course was part of Norway when it was built so we cannot claim much credit for that.

There seems to have been a long delay before cathedral building started in earnest in 1160, when a seat was built for the nation's most important bishop at St. Andrews. The only remnant left is a smashed fragment, but even from the ruins it is possible to get an idea of glories past.

The Cistercian monks from Citeaux in eastern France swept across Europe bringing their own style of worship and contemplation of God’s greatness. They brought with them a simpler, more restrained style of abbey building. In churches in northern England and the lowlands we can detect Cistercian features like the use of pointed arches and a less decorative style. In the1270s stained glass windows began to feature more prominently.

The thirteenth century continued to be a Golden Age for ecclesiastical construction elsewhere but the death of Alexander III and the turmoil that followed brought an abrupt and unseemly halt to abbey building in Scotland for the foreseeable future.