Penally Abbey is an old rectory, now the Penally Abbey Country House Hotel and Restaurant overlooking

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 ...

in the village of

Penally Penally ( cy, Penalun) coastal village, parish and community southwest of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is known for its Celtic Cross, Penally Abbey (a Gothic style country house), the neighbouring St. Deiniol's Well, WWI Practice ...

, about 1.5 miles from

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 ...

. It was once owned by the Jameson family of Irish whiskey distillers.

History

Little remains of the original monastic site except a ruined 12th century chapel in the grounds. It is called St. Deniol's church and has a Flemish chimney. The monastery at Penally is believed to date back to around the 6th century when

St Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...

and several other saints lived here, and it was located along the pilgrims' trail to

St David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wa ...

in North Pembrokeshire. A Celtic Cross created by pilgrims in the 10th century is located in Penally village church. In 1301, the rectory was occupied by the nuns of

Aconbury Aconbury ( cy, Caer Rhain) is a village in the English county of Herefordshire, situated on a road between Hereford and Ross-on-Wye. St John the Baptist Church was originally the church of a nunnery founded before 1237. The style of the current ...

and for some time it housed eight nuns and their prioress until the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1534 when the property and lands were seized by the Church of Wales. The rectors of the church at Penally used the building as their place of residence until the 1820s, when a new vicarage was erected. In the early 1800s the ruined chapel became a

fernery A fernery is a specialized garden for the cultivation and display of ferns. In many countries, ferneries are indoors or at least sheltered or kept in a shadehouse to provide a moist environment, filtered light and protection from frost and other ...

and later a Victorian folly. In the early 20th century, Penally Abbey became a private residence and it was occupied by the famous Jameson's Whiskey family from 1916 until 1925. It then housed numerous military personnel in subsequent decades, becoming a country club briefly in the 1950s. In 1985, the abbey was converted into a hotel.

Architecture

Penally Abbey is built from Pembrokeshire limestone and consists of three buildings set in nearly 6 acres. It is noted for its large gothic windows and its ogee-headed doors.

References

External links

{{commons category
Official site
Hotels in Pembrokeshire Hotels established in 1985 Christian monasteries in Wales Country houses in Wales 1985 establishments in Wales