sentences:  There is no evidence that John Damien ever resided in the abbey and he may have resigned his title in 1509 when King James IV made a petition to Rome for the title to pass to "David bishop of Galloway" with a commission to "reform the discipline and repair the ruins".This petition was repeated under King James V and Tongland was eventually granted to the bishop in 1529, and confirmed in 1541.Tongland remained a possession of the bishop until the commendatorship of William Melville (1588-1606), but afterwards reverted into the bishop's hands.