Arbroath Abbey was founded in 1178 by King William the Lion and dedicated to Thomas Becket. The murdered Archbishop of Canterbury was a childhood friend. It was established by Tironensian monks from Kelso Abbey, who remained at the abbey until the Scottish Reformation in 1560.

The abbey is associated with the Declaration of Arbroath of 1320, one of the most famous documents in Scottish history, which asserted that Scotland was a sovereign kingdom, independent from England.

In 1951, the abbey gained worldwide media attention after the Stone of Destiny, which had been stolen from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950, was left in front of the altar, close to the tomb of William the Lion. The stone, an ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, used for centuries in the inauguration of its kings and regarded as a sacred object, was officially returned to Scotland in 1996 and now resides in Edinburgh Castle.