When her beloved husband Lord John Balliol died in 1268 Lady Dervorgilla of Galloway had his embalmed heart placed in an ivory casket which she always carried with her. And she did quite a few charitable acts in his name, like the founding of the Cistercian abbey of Dulce Cor, the Sweet Heart Abbey, in 1273.
When Lady Dervorgilla died in 1289 she was buried in front of the abbey church’s high altar, together with her late husband’s heart.
The abbey was demised in 1560 following the Protestant Reformation. Since then a graceful ruin survived wars and time.
