The Franciscans or Greyfriars were founded by St Francis of Assisi in the early part of the thirteenth century. By 1231 the Greyfriars were established at Berwick and by the middle of the century, they were pressing for their independence from the English. This was rejected at the council of Narbonne in 1260. However by 1329 the Greyfriars had acquired their independence.
The Greyfriars Monastery in Lanark was founded by Robert the Bruce in 1329. The friary was to have twelve friars but Easson in his book Scottish Mediaeval houses reckoned that it is unlikely that the order managed to reach even this small number. Lanark was by no means the first Franciscan friary to be founded in Scotland. That accolade goes to Berwick which was founded in 1231. Initially Lanark was controlled from Newcastle but about the time Lanark was founded the Scottish Franciscans declared themselves independent.
Research from Originales Pariochales has revealed that the Friary was built on the south side of the High Street. It had an aisle dedicated to the Virgin Mary as well as having a cemetery. This tells us that the Friary's church was of a reasonable size - the reason being that the Friars were closely identified with the ordinary people of Lanark and it would be some of them that would be buried in the cemetery alongside the Friars. The Friary was at that time more of a people's church than the nearby chapel of St Nicholas. The Originales also mentions that land called Friar's field is attached to the Friary and that there is a spring in the field called St Peter's well.
In 1359 ten pounds was paid to the Friary in part payment for the twenty marks owed by the King as alms. Originally this money was being collected from the villages of the Upper Ward to pay for the upkeep of Lanark Castle. It had been Bruce's intention to add the to the castle by building an outer wall, since he had acquired the necessary land from a lady called Ellen de Quarantley who had a manor in Lanark. Under the terms of the agreement she was given lands in Braidwood. However, the castle was not modernised and so the Friary benefited. The Friary also obtained money from the rent of properties in the Burgh of Lanark.
The most important event in the history of the Lanark Friary was the death of Robert Harding in Lanark in 1418. He was an English Franciscan and a master of Theology. The duke of Albany tried to use him to secure continued support for the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII. However there was no interest in this idea which would have left the Scottish church out on a limb. Indeed he met with a very rough reception from the students of St Andrews over this issue. He died a rather dispirited man in Lanark.
We know through the records published in the last century that the Greyfriars held a meeting of their chapter at Lanark on 11th July 1490 to confirm an agreement between Lady Beatrice Douglas and the Greyfriars of Dundee. At that time Richard Inglis was the warden of the Greyfriars establishment in Lanark.
The date at which the site was abandoned is not known, but disbandment almost certainly preceded the Reformation. The Friary Chapel was still in use in 1552, as Sir Andrew Allen, who died in that year, left instructions that he was to be buried in the friary. However, the removal of the stone from the site was ongoing in 1566 when it was checked by the Lords of Council. At an unknown date, certainly before the Reformation the place and lands of the Frairy were leased to a secular tenant, James Lockhart of Lee
There is however some debate as to whether the Lockharts held it for a long time as there is a document recording the transfer of the place, dwelling and gardens of the Friars to Bernard Lindsay of Inglisberry Grange. This happened in 1580 when the property of the Friars is described as belonging to King James VI. At this time the Frairy is described thus:
Rumours have circulated in the town for many years that there has been a tunnel coming from the Clydesdale Hotel which ran in the direction of the telephone exchange and police station. It is unlikely that there was such a large drain for such a small number of friars and no evidence of this structure was found during our excavations.
Human remains are thought to have been found during the creation of the ballroom at the rear of the Clydesdale in the 1820's. Similarly bones have been found in the gents toilet in the Wallace Cave. However none of these bones have been professionally examined. It is quite conceivable that some of these remains came from the cemetery attached to the chapel of St Nicholas.
Likewise Mediaeval stonework which has been found recently in the renovation of the market bar can not be positively assigned to a particular building. Thus we are not in a position to say where the stone from the friary went.
Finally there is the story of the ghost of the Franciscan monk who is supposed to haunt the basement of the Clydesdale Hotel. Several locals claim to have seen it or felt its presence.
Further details of the Friary history from the Moir Bryce volumes
"the fundament, place and slate house, biggings and yards adjacent therto sumtyme belonging to the Friars Minoris callit Cordilires of Lanark, with an aikar of land pertening thairto, liand in Wertland syd, within the territore of the burgh "