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The feature below was first shown on my website on 28 July 2000

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Where's that?? - locate Abbeycwmhir on a map of Wales.



The Abbey at Abbeycwmhir, Radnorshire
Photography by Jennifer Benavidez and John Ball - 15 July 2000
(with Sony Mavica digital cameras)

Abbeycwmhir is the site of an old abbey, reputed to have been the second largest religious house of the Cistercian order. Abbey-cwm-hir (abbey of the long valley) is claimed to have been founded in 1143 by Cadwallon ap Madoc, Lord of Moelynaidd, but this view is frequently challenged. In 1213, King Henry III, enraged by alleged treachery on the part of the monks, caused considerable damage to the abbey. In 1401 it was practically destroyed by Owain Glyndwr during his conflict with the English king. On the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII in 1542, the manors and lands belonging to the abbey, valued at under £30, were granted to Sir Thomas Williams, one of the Lords Marchers.

Ruins in the meadow
Photography by John Ball

Above: The Abbey ruins are sited on lush meadowland on the floor of the valley of the Clywedog Brook. The area of the ruins is very extensive, about 255ft by 73ft, but the nature of the superstructure can now only be imagined, for only the foundations and the remains of the walls are left. The Abbey stood in a ten-acre enclosure and was strongly entrenched by earthworks thrown across the valley to the east (the left of the photograph) and west.


Monastery
Photography by John Ball

Above and below: All that remains of the once celebrated abbey.
The hill, prominent in the background, is known as Sugar Loaf.


Monastery
Photography by John Ball

Below: The eight-foot high walls in this corner of the abbey provide welcome shade from the afternoon sun.
Monastery
Photography by Jennifer Benavidez

Artefacts from the Abbey have been dispersed to various parts of Wales. Six pointed arches have been taken to Llanidloes, where they form part of the parish church. The ornate wooden choir screen is thought to have been taken to Newtown, Montgomeryshire. Much of the carved stonework was used in the construction of a nearby Elizabethan house. Stones from the walls were carried to Llanbister and used for the construction of its parish church.

It is claimed by some authorities that the remains of Llywelyn, the last native Prince of Wales, were interred in the Abbey.
The story goes that in December 1282, while Llywelyn's forces were laying seige to Builth Wells on the Breconshire-Radnorshire border, he slipped away to his stronghold a few miles south of Builth. Early one morning, Llywelyn broke cover and attended mass in the village church. He was set upon and killed in a field at Cefn-y-bedd, a few miles west of Builth. His severed head was sent to the King, while his body found decent burial near the high altar at Abbeycwmhir, where a memorial slab (right) now marks the spot. In 1982, on the 700th anniversary of Llywelyn's death, a wreath of remembrance was laid here.

  Memorial stone
    Photography by Jennifer Benavidez

Monastery   St Mary's Church
Photography by Jennifer Benavidez   Photography by Jennifer Benavidez

The remains of the thick stone walls are the habitat of wild flowers, seen at their best in late spring and early summer.

 

Religious life in Abbeycwmhir parish is now represented by this 19th century Anglican church, dedicated to St Mary (see Welsh Chapels and Churches Collection).


References:
HAMMON, Reginald J. W. (ed), 1966. Red Guide - The Complete Wales. Ward Lock. London & Melbourne.
GREGORY, Donald, 1993. Wales Before 1536 - A Guide. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. Llanrwst, Denbighshire. ISBN 0-86381-250-3.

See also the Abbeycwmhir entries in my Welsh Chapels and Churches Collection.


Acknowledgement

Many thanks to Jennifer Benavidez of Dodge City, Kansas, USA, for allowing me to use some of her fine photographs of Abbeycwmhir and its monastery.

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Details of each website feature (for newcomers) Direct links to each website feature (for regulars) Advance news of new developments on my website Summary of all the latest updates Gateway to Welsh Family History Archive Help for those having problems accessing my website A link to the main 'gateway' page to my entire website