Prior of Coldingham

The Prior of Coldingham was the head of the Benedictine monastic community of Coldingham Priory in Berwickshire. Coldingham Priory was founded in the reign of David I of Scotland, although his older brother and predecessor King Edgar of Scotland had granted the land of Coldingham to the Church of Durham in 1098, and a church was constructed by him and presented in 1100 AD. The first prior is on record by the year 1147, although an earlier foundation is almost certain. The monastic cell was a dependent of Durham until the 1370s, and in 1378 King Robert II of Scotland expelled the Durham monks; for the following century the cell had two priors, one chosen by Durham and one chosen by the Scots. It became a dependent of Dunfermline Abbey. It was subject to increasingly secular control from the late 15th century into the 16th century. The following is a list of priors and commendators: