![The Caldey Stone, Caldey Island - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/The_Caldey_Stone%2C_Caldey_Island_-_geograph.org.uk_-_590547.jpg)
Caldey Island (
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near
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 Pembroke ...
,
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, less than off the coast. With a
recorded history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...
going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of traditions inherited from
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
times are observed by the
Cistercian monks
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
of
Caldey Abbey
Caldey Abbey is an abbey of the Trappists situated on Caldey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, south of Tenby.
Caldey Island has been known as one of the centres of Cistercian activity since Celtic times and thrived during medieval Eu ...
, 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 Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
. 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 wildlife.
Following a rat eradication programme, red squirrels were introduced in 2016. Alongside rare breed sheep and cattle, the island has a diverse bird and plant life.
Name origins
The island was named ''Ynys Bŷr'' after
Saint Pyr
Pyr (Pŷr ; sometimes known as Piro in English) was a Welsh abbot of the 6th century who may later have been revered as a saint by some (though he was never canonized). Most of what is known of him comes from the First Life of St. Samson.
He h ...
, the sixth century saint, and Pyr is named as abbot of the monastery around the year 500 in the ''Life of St Samson''. This
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
name has remained in use since medieval times, but the
Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
name of the island before St Pyr's day is unknown.
Like those of many Welsh islands, Caldey's English name (sometimes spelled ''Caldy'') derives from the
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
. ''Kald ey'' translates as "cold island", with the name appearing as 'Caldea' in the early 12th century, and Kaldey or Caldey by 1291.
History
Pre-history
![Caldey Island Monastery Reflected in the Pond](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Caldey_Island_Monastery_Reflected_in_the_Pond._-_geograph.org.uk_-_113053.jpg)
Three caves have been discovered on the island and excavated to unearth archaeological finds: Nanna's Cave, Potter's Cave (1950) and Ogof–yr-Ychen ("Ox cave", 1970). In Nanna's Cave, human bones and shells were first found in 1911 and excavations continued in three more stages until the 1970s. Potter's Cave was found in 1950 by a monk named James Van Nedervelde, and excavations, which continued until 1970, initially revealed
stalagmite
A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling")
is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...
s in which tools and animals were embedded. After removal of these finds, three human skeletons were found and carbon dated: two were dated to the
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of pa ...
and one to the Romano–British period. Also found were a few artefacts from the late
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
period. In Ogof–yr-Ychen, the bones of humans whose burials date between 7590 BC and 5710 BC were found.
Stable isotope ratio
The term stable isotope has a meaning similar to stable nuclide, but is preferably used when speaking of nuclides of a specific element. Hence, the plural form stable isotopes usually refers to isotopes of the same element. The relative abundanc ...
tests revealed that they lived on marine food. A very few earlier neolithic bowls and shells have also been found in the caves. All the finds were carbon dated and have been preserved in the Abbey of Caldey Island or in
Tenby Museum and Art Gallery
}
Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, located in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, is the oldest independent museum in Wales. Established in 1878, the Museum has a collection of local geology, biology, archaeological and maritime artifacts. Accom ...
.
Recorded history
![CaldeyIslandPriory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/CaldeyIslandPriory.JPG)
A
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
monastery was first established on the island in the sixth century, and the island thrived during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
Following the Norman Conquest,
Robert fitz Martin
Robert fitz Martin ( 10?? – c. 1159) was a knight from Devon whose father, Martin de Turribus, was the first Norman Lord of Kemes, in what had previously been the Dyfed part of Deheubarth. Fitz Martin inherited the Lordship of Kemes from his fa ...
, Lord of
Cemais, gave the island to his mother Geva. In the 12th century,
Caldey Priory
Caldey Priory is a Grade I-listed priory on Caldey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, some south of the modern Caldey Abbey.
History
Sir Robert fitz Martin was granted the island in 1113 and his mother Geva founded St Mary’s Priory ...
(now a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
) was established by Tironensian monks as a daughter house of
St. Dogmaels Abbey, and lasted to the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536.
The north side of Caldey Island is made up of grey
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, a desirable building material. The 19th century seems to have been the height of limestone quarrying on the island; some of the limestone was taken to the
Annery kiln
Annery kiln is a former limekiln of the estate of Annery, in the parish of Monkleigh, North Devon. It is situated on the left bank of the River Torridge near Half-Penny Bridge, built in 1835,Scrutton, Sue, Lord Rolle's Canal, Great Torrington, 2 ...
in the district of
Torridge
Torridge may refer to:
* Torridge District, a local government district in the county of Devon, England
* River Torridge, is a river in Devon in England
* Torridge Lass
Suffix beginning with F
''Empire Fabian''
''Empire Fabian'' was an E ...
in north Devon for processing.
The current abbey was built in 1910 by Anglican Benedictine monks but financial problems beginning in 1925 led to the 1929 purchase of the property by Belgian
Cistercians
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
. It is considered to be the most complete example of the
Arts and Crafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
style in the country, and was the largest project of
John Coates Carter
John Coates Carter (1859–1927) was an English architect. Born in Norwich, Carter is notable for his design and restoration to churches in South Wales, and in particular Glamorgan. He was partnered with John Pollard Seddon from 1884 to 1904 a ...
. At the time of building, the abbey was called "the greatest phenomenon in the Anglican community at the present time". The roofs are of white
roughcast
Roughcast or pebbledash is a coarse plaster surface used on outside walls that consists of lime and sometimes cement mixed with sand, small gravel and often pebbles or shells. The materials are mixed into a slurry and are then thrown at the wor ...
with red tiling, and the abbey church has five side-windows and on the south a "tapering" tower with primitive
crenellation
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
s.
Caldey Island and Little Caldey Island have together formed an ecclesiastical district for as long as the locals can remember, with 20 Cistercian monks living at the monastery . The Census Reports of the County of Pembroke record it as an ecclesiastical district for administrative purposes.
The Caldey Island Act 1990 added the island to
Dyfed
Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel.
Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...
and
South Pembrokeshire
South Pembrokeshire ( cy, De Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996.
Creation
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, from the following parts of the administra ...
, and to
Pembrokeshire parliamentary constituency.
Geography
Caldey Island is about long and in width at its widest. It has an area of and its highest elevation is . The island lies in
Carmarthen Bay
Carmarthen Bay ( cy, Bae Caerfyrddin) is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conserva ...
on the northern side of the
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
in the county of
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
, a little over south of
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 Pembroke ...
on the mainland of southwest Wales.
[ It is separated from the mainland by Caldey Sound. A ferry service from Tenby goes to Caldey Island in the spring and summer months when the weather allows.] Boats depart every half hour from the harbour at high tide, while at low tide they depart from Castle Beach.
Caldey Island consists of two islands which are separated at high tide: Caldey Island and Little Caldey Island. Little Caldey Island is also known as St Margaret's Island or St Margaret's Isle, and lies off the north-western point of Caldey Island. It acquired its name in the 17th century, and is known for its seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
and bird sanctuary.[
The island is mostly used for grazing.
]
Climate
The average high and low temperatures for Caldey Island, along with wind speeds for each month of the year, are given in the following table. The absolute maximum temperature recorded is in August and the absolute minimum recorded is in February.
Wildlife
Caldey Island is known for its flowers, many of which are rarely found in other areas of the United Kingdom. The island also has many species of birds that are prevalent in the summer months. The country's largest colony of cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s is located at St Margaret's Island. Following a two-year rat eradication programme, red squirrel
The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent.
In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...
s were introduced in 2016 and by 2018 were breeding successfully.
Economy and services
The island's economic activity is supported by tourism and the sale of perfumes and chocolate.[ The main income comes from tourism. The monastery opened an Internet shop in 2001 to sell products online. Their lavender perfume is said to be "simply the best lavender soliflore on earth" by the perfume critic ]Luca Turin
Luca Turin (born 20 November 1953) is a biophysicist and writer with a long-standing interest in bioelectronics, the sense of smell, perfumery, and the fragrance industry.
Early life and education
Turin was born in Beirut, Lebanon on 20 November ...
.
Caldey Island provides a spiritual retreat
The meaning of a spiritual retreat can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, meditative retreats are ...
that accommodates up to 750 guests a year. The island has a functioning post office including a museum of the island's history. The island has its own postage stamps and its own monetary unit named after the local fish, the dab
DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to:
Dictionaries
* ''Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies
* ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949
Places
* Dąb, ...
. There is a colonial-style tea shop on the green, and an underground reservoir near the lighthouse, supplied by a spring. This provides water to the gardens and the people.
For handling emergencies, the island Land Rover
Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
is shared between the fire service, the coastguard, and the police. There are two fire engines and a regular firefighting unit, a duty which used to be performed by the monks. The last reported major fire on the island was in 1940 when the monastery was damaged.[
]
Landmarks
Tourist attractions on Caldey Island include the recently restored 13th-century church of St Illtyd
St Illtyd is a hamlet near Aberbeeg, in southeast Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is situated on the mountain road between Pontypool and Abertillery in Blaenau Gwent. It rests at about 1200 feet above sea level. The ...
, an ogham
Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...
cross from the sixth century, a Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
chapel, and Caldey Abbey
Caldey Abbey is an abbey of the Trappists situated on Caldey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, south of Tenby.
Caldey Island has been known as one of the centres of Cistercian activity since Celtic times and thrived during medieval Eu ...
, completed in 1910.
Caldey Lighthouse was built in 1828. The light was intended to help coastal traffic trading limestone and coal to mid- and North Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
but the light also helped long-distance and North American traffic identify the Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
and avoid confusion with the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. The lighthouse is a squat, round, brick-lined limestone tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
of 17 m (56 ft), with walls 0.9 m (3 ft) thick at the base and thick at the top. The light stands 64 m (210 ft) above high-water mark. The lighthouse was automated in 1929. The former oil store for the lighthouse is a listed structure. The lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...
's cottages that flank the lighthouse are two-storey, with hipped roofs, octagonal chimneys and a one-storey linking corridor. The cottages were built around 1868–70 by T. C. Harvey.
References
Bibliography
*
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*
*
*
*
*
External links
Official Caldey Island website
RCAHMW/Coflein listings
The monks installed a television set
as a 'one-off' to watch the funeral of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
Photos of Caldey Island and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
*https://www.caldeyislandsurvivors.org/petition P-05-954 Petition for a public inquiry by the Welsh Government into the historic child abuse on Caldey Island, Correspondence – Petition Coordinator to Committee, 22.10.21.
{{Authority control
Islands of Pembrokeshire
Carmarthen Bay
Islands of the Bristol Channel
Private islands of the United Kingdom