Draft:Hospitium of the Grey Friars, Inverkeithing

The Hospitium of the Grey Friars is a 14th century hospitium and gardens in Inverkeithing, Scotland.

It is considered the finest surviving medieval friary building in Scotland. The friary served as a place of hospitality and lodging for travellers and pilgrims, often after crossing the Firth of Forth; their pilgrimages have since been commemorated with the Fife Pilgrim Way trail, on which the Friary sits.

The Friary is Category A listed by Historic Scotland, reserved for "buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic; or fine, little-altered examples of some particular period, style or building type".

History and establishment
The Franciscans are a Christian religious order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in the 13th century. In Scotland, they were named Greyfriars because of their grey robes.

The Franciscan Friary in Inverkeithing was established in the wake of King David II receiving a papal bull in 1346 from Pope Clement VI, granting his blessing for the foundation of a Franciscan friary "in another place far from attack". With southern Scotland being ravaged by English forces, Inverkeithing was a natural choice, as the town is at the narrowest crossing point of the Firth of Forth. This location was also apt because were many and varied religious communities established along Fife to the shrines of Saint Margaret in Dunfermline and Saint Andrew, commemorated in the present day Fife Pilgrim Way.

The Franciscans established their Friary here around 1346. In 1384 King Robert II made Inverkeithing friary exempt from tax.

Restoration work
In 1932 the Friary was bought for the people of Inverkeithing, and restoration work took place between 1932 and 1934. The Friary gardens opened to the public in 1936 and remain used to this day, providing an excellent vantage point over the Firth of Forth for views of Edinburgh and beyond.

In 2018, archaeological excavation work was undertaken at the Friary. The Canmore Scotland report reads as such: "Remains of the southern wall of what is likely to have been the northern range of the friary, possibly the friary church, were encountered along with deposits relating to the construction and demolition of the structure. Medieval pottery was recovered from deposits associated to the wall. A possible floor, comprised of sandstone flagstones, was also identified".