Melrose Abbey was built by David I for Cistercian monks from Rievaulx, near York, whom he encouraged to settle in Melrose. There was an earlier monastery three miles east of the present site, founded by Saint Aidan from Iona, in the 7^th Century. St. Boisil, from whom the nearby town of St. Boswell’s derives its name, was its second prior. Melrose became one of the richest monasteries in Scotland, its second Abbot being the son of Queen Matilda of England. Like most of the Border abbeys, Melrose suffered at the hands of English invaders, being completely destroyed by Richard II. The abbey was rebuilt in the 15^th Century. The heart of King Robert Bruce was probably buried here and Melrose Abbey was a particular favourite of Sir Walter Scott who is buried at nearby Dryburgh Abbey.