unfermline Abbey was founded by Margaret, the wife of Malcom Cranmore in around 1070. Margaret was the sister of f Edgar the Aetheling and had fled with her brother to Scotland after the Norman Invasion of William the Conqueror. Margaret was deeply religious and founded several abbeys including Dunfermline. Monks from Canterbury were sent to populate the new foundation by Archbishop Lanfranc. The first church on the site was small as the numbers of monks sent was few, but over time it grew in importance and in the reign of David I, Margaret's son, the church was dedicated (1150). In around 1250 the small church was taken down and replaced by a much larger set of buildings. In 1560 the church was attacked and badly damaged during the Scottish Reformation and remained in a decaying state until in the nineteenth century a new church was built around it. Many important Scottish rulers are buried on the site.