The origins of the present Chelva town can be found in the 11th century, when the ruling Moors established a fortress. The original city center was developed adjacent to the castle. It was enclosed by a wall with four gates (one is still visible, San Cristobal). Because of these fortifications, Chelva was a town of considerable importance during the Muslim rule.
The castle was converted as a palace where the Viscount of Chelva stayed from the late 14th century. The building evolved architecturally, eventually presiding over the Main Plaza. An Iberian occupation from the 4th century B.C. has recently been discovered, and the location of Chelva’s first Christian church within the castle walls from the 13th century has been confirmed.
Dryburgh Abbey on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders was founded in 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place in 1152.
It was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly surviving until the Scottish Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland. It is now a designated scheduled monument and the surrounding landscape is included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds.