“This endentur beris wytnes that the yer of grace MCCCXCIIII. (1394-5),
the xvi. day of the moneth of Feveryer, this _cunnande_ (covenant) was
made betwene Johnne, abbot of Aberbrothoe, of the ta part, and Wilyam
Plumer of Tweddale, burges of the cite of Andirstoun (St Andrews), of
the tothir part; that is to say, that Wilyam Plumer sal theke the mekil
quer wyth lede, and guttyr yt al abowt sufficiandly wyth lede, for the
quhilkis thekyn and gutteryn the abbot sal pay till him xxxv. marcis at
syndry termys, as he is wyrkand; and of the xxxv. marcis, v. marcis sal
dwel style in the abbotis hand quhillys the quer be thekyt and _alurryt_
(battlemented) al abowyt with stane, and quhen it is allurryt about with
stane he sal dycht it abowt wyth lede sufficiandly, as his craft askys;
and quhen he has endyt that werk he sal be payt of v. marcis and a gown
with a hude till his reuarde. Quhilk Wilyam Plumer sal fynd a man on his
awn cost, and the abbot and convent a man alsua of thar cost quhil the
werk be fullyly endyt. The abbot and the convent sall fynd al maner of
gratht that pertenys to that werk quhil is wyrkande. Willam sal haf
alsua for ilk stane fynyne that he fynys of lede iijd. (3 pennies), and
a stane of ilk hynder that he fynys til his travel, and that day that he
wyrkis he sal haf a penny till his _noynsankys_ (luncheon).” The
indenture was then cut into two parts, and one half given to each of the
parties, after receiving the seal of the other party.[29] About fifteen
months after the work was finished William granted a receipt to the
abbot for £20 sterling, paid to him for the _architectura magni chori_,
and in full of all his claims for purifying or fining the lead, for his
_nonesankys_, and the gown with the hood, as specified in the indenture.
In 1470, and for a few years after, there were extensive repairs made,
especially in connection with the roofs and other woodwork of the
monastic buildings, and mention is made of the “building of our
dormitory of new.”
The structures of the abbey do not appear to have suffered at the hands
of the Reformers, but the revenues having become the property of the
Hamiltons, and being probably appropriated to their private use, there
were no funds to keep up the buildings, and hence they gradually fell
into decay, and were freely used by the magistrates and towns people as
a quarry. In 1580 the Duke of Lennox, Esme Stuart d’Aubigne, gave a
grant to the Town Council,[30] to “tak away all and hail ye stainis,
tymmer, and other pertinents of our house, ye dormitory in ye said
Abbey.” This was for the purpose of supplying materials “for biggyn of
ane kirk.” That work does not appear[31] to have been accomplished till
ten years later, up to which time service was conducted in the lady
chapel, “stripped of its altars and images.”