Located about 2 miles from present-day Melrose, the medieval site of Old Melrose is a raised peninsula on a bend of the River Tweed. No medieval buildings survive on the site. After the Reformation, the lands of Old Melrose appear to have been granted to Robert Ormestoun, who built a house on it. A later house, called Old Melrose House, has been built in the area of Chapel Knoll with a walled garden next to it. There is also a 19thc summer house, which was built at the tip of the peninsula.

An abbey was established at Old Melrose in the mid-7thc. Its first abbot was Eata, a disciple of Aidan, founder of Lindesfarne. Eata was later made bishop of either Hexham or Lindesfarne. St Cuthbert entered the monastery of Old Melrose in 651, under the tutelage of Boisil. He became prior of Melrose in 664, before being moved to Lindisfarne shortly afterwards, where he became prior, then abbot and finally bishop. Althought the monastery was destroyed by Kenneth king of Scotland in 859, it seems to have been rebuilt by 875, as it is recorded that it served as a resting place for the body of St Cuthbert. According to Symeon of Durham, Old Melrose, amongst other places, was bestowed to the monks of Lindesfarne c.830 by Egred, bishop of Lindesfarne. Boisel, abbot of Melrose, had been buried at Old Melrose, but his bones were taken up during the first part of the 11thc by Elfrid the priest and taken to Durham, where they were they were placed in a shrine near the body of St Cuthbert. By this time, Old Melrose was no longer functioning as a monastery. Simeon of Durham states that in 1074 Aldwin, along with Turgot, left the monastery of Jarrow and went to the former monastery of Old Melrose, which was then a solitude. There, they began to serve Christ, until Malcolm of Scotland became aware of them and harassed them. But it was not until Walcher, bishop of Durham, entreated them to depart that Aldwin and Turgot left, going to the monastery of Wearmouth, which was then ruinous. With their help, the abbey was revived and newcomers arrived. Sometime later, Aldwin became prior at Durham and Turgot became confessor and biographer of St Margaret of Scotland. On Aldwin’s death in 1087, Turgot, himself, was made prior of Durham. Later, for a short while, Turgot was made bishop of St Andrews, but he eventually returned to Durham and died at Wearmouth in 1115. A chapel was erected and dedicated to St Cuthbert at Old Melrose sometime after 1073 and it was initially belonged to Durham Priory, but it was exchanged for St Mary at Berwick by David I sometime between 1130 and 1133, and finally presented to his new Cistercian abbey at Melrose, which he founded in 1136. Evidence for the church of St Cuthbert in the 13th century comes from another charter by Peter de Haga, in which candles are to be given to ‘Capellam sci Cuthberti de veteri Melros’. About 1321 the monastery was burnt by the English and the bishop of Galloway granted indulgences in that year for its restoration. In 1437 the Pope also granted similar indulgences, but there is no mention of the chapel in the Cuthbertine list attributed to John Wessyngton, prior of Durham 1416-46.

Several stones found in the area are placed along the path in front of the summer house and others in a fenced enclosure outside the tea shop. These have been collected over time when found in the area of Old Melrose. Diagonal tooling survives on several stones, including plain, ashlar blocks. Not all of the stones appear to be from the Romanesque period and some may be from other, later buildings. The history of the chapel of St Cuthbert seems to suggest a building of either the later 11thc or first half of the 12thc, a dating which would accord with the carved Romanesque stones.