The medieval ruins of Beauly Priory

Beauly Priory, located in Inverness-shire since the 13th century, is a historical landmark that stands today. The precise founder of the priory is uncertain, with different sources attributing its establishment to Alexander II of Scotland, John Byset, or both. What is known is that the French monks, along with a nearby landowner, established a strong French-speaking presence in the area, leading to the name 'beau lieu' or 'beautiful place' that eventually passed into English.

The priory initially operated as a Valliscaulian monastic community before it became Cistercian on 16 April 1510, after the suppression of the Valliscaulian Order by the Pope. The priory was gradually secularised and ruled by a series of commendatory abbots. In 1634, the priory’s lands were given over to the bishop of Ross by royal charter. Today, the ruins of Beauly Priory stand as a scheduled monument and are one of the main visitor attractions in the area.

In August 1818, John Keats and his friend Charles Brown made a stop at Beauly on their way to Cromarty. Their visit produced a collaborative poem, 'On Some Skulls in Beauley Abbey, near Inverness', written early in August 1818 or possibly some weeks or months later. The majority of the lines are by Brown, while Keats contributed to the first line of the poem and the first four words of the second line, as well as three stanzas.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons