Cistercian Way (Wales)
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Cistercian Way (Wales)
The Cistercian Way is a waymarked, long-distance trail which circumnavigates Wales, linking the Cistercian historic sites of Wales. It is a circular walk and can be started from any point along its route. The total length is approximately . The Cistercian Way started in May 1998 as part of the annual pilgrimage of the Society of St David and St Nicholas to Penrhys in the Rhondda as part of the celebrations of the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the Cistercian order. Tintern Abbey, founded by Walter de Clare in 1131, was the first Abbey to be built in Wales. One section of the route follows the medieval pilgrimage route from Llantarnam Abbey, built on the site of an old Cistercian monastery and now occupied by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy, to the shrine of Our Lady of Penrhys. Not far from the shrine is Ffynnon Fair (or St. Mary's Well), a holy well overlooking the village of Llwynypia and the oldest recorded Christian site in the Rhondda. The waters from the we ...
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Strata Marcella
The Abbey of Strata Marcella ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Marchell) was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell (''Strata Marcella'' being the Latinised form of the Welsh name) on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys, Wales. Founding The abbey lay within the diocese of St Asaph, and the abbey church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was founded in 1170 by Owain Cyfeiliog Prince of Powys, as a daughter house of the Abbey at Whitland. Within two years the Abbey had moved a short distance to the present site but excavations have found no evidence of any early structures before construction in stone started in 1190 so it is likely the earliest buildings were simple wooden structures. Building work continued until the early 13th century, by which time Strata Marcella had become the largest Cistercian Abbey in Wales. Its nave was 200 feet long. It was monks from Strata Marcella who went to the Vale of Llangollen in 1200 to found the Abbey of Valle Cru ...
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Cwmhir Abbey
Cwmhir Abbey ( cy, Abaty Cwm Hir), near Llandrindod Wells in Powys, is a Welsh Cistercian monastery founded in 1176 by Cadwallon ap Madog. A spurious tale was later recorded that the abbey was founded in 1143 by Meredudd ap Maelgwn at Ty-faenor, and then refounded at the present location near the village of Abbeycwmhir in 1176. There does appear to be a site movement from Ty-faenor, but Maredudd ap Maelgwn was prince of Maelienydd in 1215 under Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Gwynedd, who then controlled the district. The later charter to the abbey in 1215 caused the confusion and led to the belief that Maredudd had founded the abbey in 1143. History The original lord of Maelienydd, a Welsh prince, Cadwallon ap Madog, was killed by the English Sir Roger Mortimer of Wigmore on 22 September 1179. Mortimer later made a charter as lord of Maelienydd in 1200. The community subsequently suffered over many years due to the blood feud between the descendants of Cadwallon ap Madog ...
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Strata Florida Abbey
Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley of Flowers'; the Welsh word is synonymous with ''strath'' and ''dale'', while ("flower") is also the name of the nearby river. After the region around St Davids was firmly occupied by the Norman Marcher lordship of Pembroke by the early 12th century, with St Davids firmly under Norman influence thereafter, the princely Dinefwr family of Deheubarth transferred their patronage to Strata Florida, and interred many of their family members there. History Foundation The Monastery was founded in 1164 by the Cambro-Norman Knight Robert FitzStephen (c 1123—1183). In the 12th century, Cistercian monks from Whitland Abbey, Narbeth, Carmarthenshire started to construct a religious settlement on the banks of the ''Afon Fflur'' (from which the p ...
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Pembrokeshire Coast Path
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly at cliff-top level, with a total of of ascent and descent. At its highest point – Pen yr afr, on Cemaes Head – it reaches a height of , and at its lowest point – Sandy Haven crossing, near Milford Haven – it is just above low water. Whilst most of the coastline faces west, it offers – at varying points – coastal views in every direction of the compass. The southern end of the path is at Amroth, Pembrokeshire. The northern end is often regarded as being at Poppit Sands, near St. Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire, where the official plaque was originally sited but the path now continues to St. Dogmaels, where a new marker was unveiled in July 2009. Here the path links with the Ceredigion Coast Path, which c ...
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Caldey Island
Caldey Island ( Welsh:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of traditions inherited from Celtic times are observed by the Cistercian monks of Caldey Abbey, the owners of the island. The island's population consists of about 40 permanent residents and a varying number of Cistercian monks, known as Trappists. The monks' predecessors migrated there from Belgium in the early 20th century, taking over from Anglican Benedictines who had bought the island in 1906 and built the extant monastery and abbey but later got into financial difficulties. Today, the monks of Caldey Abbey rely on tourism and making perfumes and chocolate. The usual access to the island is by boat from Tenby, to the north. In the spring and summer, visitors are ferried to Caldey, not only to visit the sacred sanctuary but also to view the island's rich ...
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Tenby
Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse, Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, the 15th century St. Mary's Church, and the National Trust's Tudor Merchant's House. Boats sail from Tenby's harbour to the offshore monastic Caldey Island. St Catherine's Island is tidal and has a 19th century Palmerston Fort. The town has an operating railway station. The A478 road from Cardigan, Ceredigion, connects Tenby with the M4 via the A477, the A40 and the A48 in approximately . History With its strategic position on the far west coast of Britain, and a natural sheltered harbour from both the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, Tenby was a natural settlement point, probably a hill f ...
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Margam Abbey
Margam Abbey ( cy, Abaty Margam) was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales. History The abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Early Christian crosses found in the close vicinity and conserved in the nearby Margam Stones Museum suggest the existence of an earlier Celtic monastic community. The founding abbot was William of Clairvaux. The third abbot, Conan, enjoyed the praise of Giraldus Cambrensis, whom he appears to have entertained prior to his official visit with Baldwin of Forde, Archbishop of Canterbury, to preach the Crusade in 1188. Conan (or Cunan) contributed to Patristic literature, as he is credited with the '' capitula'' or chapter-headings prefixing each section of St. Bernard's ''Sermons on the Song of Songs'', one of the works for which that author was titled a Doctor of the Church. The ''Annales ...
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Saint Illtyd's Walk
Saint Illtyd's Walk is a waymarked long-distance footpath in South Wales. It runs from Pembrey Country Park, west of Burry Port, through rural eastern Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot to end at Margam Country Park, south of Port Talbot. The walk is named after Illtyd (or Illtud), a late-fifth / early-sixth century Welsh saint. The route The route skirts the fringes of Burry Port, heading east to the Lliedi reservoirs then to Pontarddulais. It then turns northeast heading up via Graig Fawr onto Mynydd y Gwair then heads southeast via Bryn Mawr and Mynydd Carnllechart to the Swansea Canal north of Pontardawe following the towpath past Ynysmeudwy and Cilmaengwyn. The route then climbs east over the northern end of the Mynydd Marchywel ridge and down to cross the River Dulais at Crynant. From there it climbs steeply up through forestry to Sarn Helen which here runs along Hirfynydd and then steeply down to Resolven in the Vale of Neath. Passing Melincourt Falls it clim ...
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Cymer Abbey
Cymer Abbey (Welsh: ''Abaty Cymer'') is a ruined Cistercian abbey near the village of Llanelltyd, just north of Dolgellau, Gwynedd, in north-west Wales, United Kingdom. History It was founded in 1189 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the patronage of Maredudd ap Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd (d. 1212), Lord of Merioneth (grandson of Owain Gwynedd), and of his brother, Gruffudd ap Cynan, prince of N. Wales (d. 1200). It was a daughter house of Abbeycwmhir in Powys. The remains of the church and west tower are very plain, but substantial with walls surviving about nave archway height. It is a simple nave with aisles, lacking northern and southern transepts, and the choir and presbytery are incorporated into the nave. The abbey has buff sandstone dressings and some red sandstone carvings, but is primarily of local rubble construction. The foundations of the cloister and other monastic buildings are visible to the south. The abbot's house remain to the west of the site and have ...
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Strata Florida
Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley of Flowers'; the Welsh word is synonymous with ''strath'' and ''dale'', while ("flower") is also the name of the nearby river. After the region around St Davids was firmly occupied by the Norman Marcher lordship of Pembroke by the early 12th century, with St Davids firmly under Norman influence thereafter, the princely Dinefwr family of Deheubarth transferred their patronage to Strata Florida, and interred many of their family members there. History Foundation The Monastery was founded in 1164 by the Cambro-Norman Knight Robert FitzStephen (c 1123—1183). In the 12th century, Cistercian monks from Whitland Abbey, Narbeth, Carmarthenshire started to construct a religious settlement on the banks of the ''Afon Fflur'' (from which the pre ...
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Whitland
Whitland (Welsh: , lit. "Old White House", or ''Hendy-gwyn ar Daf'', "Old White House on the River Tâf", from the medieval ''Ty Gwyn ar Daf'') is both a town and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Description The Whitland community is bordered by the communities of: Henllanfallteg; Llanboidy; and Eglwyscummin, all being in Carmarthenshire; and by Lampeter Velfrey and Llanddewi Velfrey in Pembrokeshire. According to the 2011 census the population was 1,792. Despite losing its dairy and remaining high street bank, Whitland has an estimated 125 small businesses as well as Whitland Engineering, which services the dairy industry and in 2019 employed 90 people. History Traditionally, Whitland is seen as the site of an assembly of lawyers and churchmen, sometimes described as the first Welsh parliament, called in 930 by King Hywel Dda to codify the native Welsh laws. Whitland takes its name from its medieval Cistercian abbey. The monastery pre-dates Tintern but now is very ...
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