Llanthony Priory | |
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Location | Llanthony, Monmouthshire, Wales |
Coordinates | 51°56′40″N3°02′16″W / 51.94444°N 3.03778°W |
Governing body | Cadw |
Llanthony Priory (Welsh : Priordy Llanddewi Nant Hodni) is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny on an old road to Hay-on-Wye at Llanthony. The priory ruins lie to the west of the prominent Hatterrall Ridge, a limb of the Black mountains. The main ruins are under the care of Cadw and entrance is free.
The priory is a Grade I listed building as of 1 September 1956. [1] Within the precincts of the Priory are three other buildings with Grade I listed status: the Abbey Hotel, listed on 1 September 1956; [2] St David's Church, listed on the same date, [3] and Court Farm Barn, listed on 9 January in the same year. [4]
The priory dates back to around the year 1100, when one of Hugh de Lacy's knights called William reputedly came upon a ruined chapel of St. David in this location; he was inspired to devote himself to solitary prayer and study. He was joined by Ersinius, a former Chaplain to Queen Matilda, the wife of King Henry I, and then a band of followers. [5] A church was built on the site, dedicated to St John the Baptist, and consecrated in 1108. By 1118, a group of around 40 canons founded there a priory of Canons Regular, the first in Wales.
In 1135, after persistent attacks from the local Welsh population, the monks retreated to Gloucester where they founded a secondary cell, Llanthony Secunda. However, around 1186 another member of the de Lacy family, Hugh, the fifth baron, endowed the estate with funds from his Irish estates to rebuild the priory church, and this work was completed by 1217. There are also letters from Pope Clement III (CSM, i, p. 157–159), between 1185 and 1188, confirming further grants and gifts to the priory from Adam de Feypo and Geoffrey de Cusack in Ireland.
The Priory became one of the great medieval buildings in Wales, in a mixture of Norman and Gothic architectural styles. Renewed building took place around 1325, with a new gatehouse. On 4 April 1327 (Palm Sunday), the deposed Edward II stayed at the Priory on his way from Kenilworth Castle to Berkeley Castle, where he is alleged to have been murdered.
Following Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion in the early 15th century, the Priory seems to have been barely functioning. In 1481, it was formally merged with its daughter cell in Gloucester and, after 1538, both houses were suppressed by Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.
The buildings at Llanthony gradually decayed after the Dissolution to a ruin although, in the early 18th century, the medieval infirmary was converted to the Church of St David. [6] In 1799, the estate was bought by Colonel Sir Mark Wood, the owner of Piercefield House near Chepstow, who converted some of the buildings into a domestic house and shooting box. He then sold the estate in 1807 to the poet Walter Savage Landor.
Landor needed an Act of Parliament, passed in 1809, to be allowed to pull down some of Wood's buildings and construct a house, which was never finished. He wanted to become a model country gentleman, planting trees, importing sheep from Spain and improving the roads. There is still an avenue of trees in the area known as Landor's Larches and many old chestnuts have been dated back to his time. [7]
Landor described the idylls of country life, including the nightingales and glow-worms in the valley to his friend Robert Southey. However, the idyll was not to last long as, for the next three years, Landor was worried by the combined vexation of neighbours and tenants, lawyers and lords-lieutenant and even the Bishop of St David's. Many of his troubles stemmed from petty squabbles, arising from his headstrong and impetuous nature. He wasted money trying to improve the land and the condition of the poorer inhabitants. The final straw was when he let his farmland to one Charles Betham, whom Landor viewed as incompetent and extravagant and who paid no rent. After an expensive action to recover the debts from Betham, Landor had had enough and decided to leave the country, abandoning Llanthony to his creditorschurch of – principally his mother. The estate was administered in his absence by his mother and cousin, but many of the buildings continued to disintegrate thereafter.
In 1869, Joseph Leycester Lyne (known as Father Ignatius) founded an Anglican monastic institution in nearby Capel-y-ffin, which he named Llanthony Abbey. It survived until 1908 and its buildings were later the home of artist Eric Gill.
The ruins have attracted artists over the years, including J. M. W. Turner who painted them from the opposite hillside. The priory was acquired by the Knight family in the 20th century.[ citation needed ]
Wood's house later became the Abbey Hotel. The remaining ruins are protected by Cadw and entrance to the ruins is free of charge to visitors.
Ewenny Priory, in Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was a monastery of the Benedictine order, founded in the 12th century. The priory was unusual in having extensive military-style defences and in its state of preservation; the architectural historian John Newman described it as “the most complete and impressive Norman ecclesiastical building in Glamorgan”. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, parts of the priory were converted into a private house by Sir Edward Carne, a lawyer and diplomat. This Elizabethan house was demolished between 1803 and 1805 and replaced by a Georgian mansion, Ewenny Priory House. The house is still owned by the Turbervill family, descendants of Sir Edward. The priory is not open to the public apart from the Church of St Michael, the western part of the priory building, which continues to serve as the parish church for the village. The priory is in the care of Cadw and is a Grade I listed building.
Piercefield House is a largely ruined neo-classical country house near St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the centre of Chepstow. The central block of the house was designed in the very late 18th century, by, or to the designs of, Sir John Soane. It is flanked by two pavilions, of slightly later date, by Joseph Bonomi the Elder. The house sits within Piercefield Park, a Grade I listed historic landscape, that was created in the 18th century as a notable Picturesque estate.
The Vale of Ewyas is the steep-sided and secluded valley of the River Honddu, in the Black Mountains of Wales and within the Brecon Beacons National Park. As well as its outstanding beauty, it is known for the ruins of Llanthony Priory, and for several noteworthy churches such as those at Capel-y-ffin and Cwmyoy. It is sometimes referred to as the "Llanthony Valley" as Llanthony is the village situated at the valley centre.
Llanvihangel Crucorney is a small village in the community (parish) of Crucorney, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Abergavenny and 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Hereford, England on the A465 road.
Llanthony is a village in the community of Crucorney on the northern edge of Monmouthshire, South East Wales, United Kingdom.
LlanvihangelCourt, Llanvihangel Crucorney, is a Tudor country house in Monmouthshire, Wales. The architectural historian John Newman, in his Gwent/Monmouthshire volume of The Buildings of Wales series described the court as "the most impressive and richly decorated house of around 1600 in Monmouthshire". The origins of the house are medieval, with a traditional date of construction of 1471. The building was given its present appearance by a substantial enlargement and re-casing of circa 1600 by Rhys Morgan, of the family of the original owners. In the very early 17th century it was owned briefly by Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester.
The Church of St Martin, Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire, Wales, was begun in the 12th century, although most of the current structure dates from the 13th century. The church is most notable for its extreme tilt, the result of a landslide. This has led to many attempts to strengthen the church and prevent its collapse, through the use of massive tie beams and buttresses. The church is in the Gothic style, and has a chancel, nave, south porch, and western tower. A round-headed north window dates to the 12th century, and the nave roof has been dated to the late 13th or early 14th century. St Martin's is a Grade I listed building and an active parish church. It is dedicated to St Martin of Tours.
Abbey Hotel is a Grade I listed building incorporating a hotel and country inn in Llanthony, Monmouthshire, Wales.
Monmouthshire is a county and principal area of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".
Monmouthshire is a county of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".
Crucorney is a community in the county of Monmouthshire, Wales. It is the northernmost community in the county and covers the villages of Llanvihangel Crucorney, Pandy, Cwmyoy and Llanthony amongst others. The Vale of Ewyas comprises much of the northern part of the community, with the River Honddu running through Llanthony and Llanvihangel Crucorney, before turning northeast passing Pandy towards the River Monnow. The 2011 population was 1,201.
St David's Church is a medieval structure at Llanthony Priory. Established as a church in the sixteenth century, and restored in the late nineteenth century, the church became a Grade I-listed building on 1 September 1956.
Court Farm Barn, Llanthony Priory, Monmouthshire, is a barn of late medieval origins that forms part of a group of historic buildings in the priory complex. It is a Grade I listed building.
Llwyn-celyn Farmhouse, Llanvihangel Crucorney, Monmouthshire is a farmhouse of late medieval origins. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Church of St Cadoc, Llangattock-Juxta-Usk, Monmouthshire is a parish church with its datable origins in the 15th century. The church was restored in 1827 and again in 1864–5. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Ty-Hwnt-y-Bwlch Farmhouse,, Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire is a farmhouse in the north of the county dating from the late 16th century. Located on the hillside above the Church of St Martin, it is a Grade II* listed building.
Court Farmhouse, Llanthony, Monmouthshire is a farmhouse of late medieval origins. It may have originally been lodgings for the Prior of Llanthony. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the building became a farmhouse. In the 19th century, the Llanthony Estate was bought by Walter Savage Landor who undertook remodelling. The farmhouse is Grade II* listed, with the adjacent barn, Court Farm Barn, having a separate Grade I listing.
Blaengavenny Farmhouse, Llanvihangel Crucorney, Monmouthshire is a farmhouse of late medieval origins. It is a Grade II* listed building. Its adjacent barn and granary have separate Grade II listings.
Church Farmhouse, Caldicot, Monmouthshire is a substantial grange building which was a working farmhouse before 1205. It is connected to both Llanthony Prima in Monmouthshire and Llanthony Secunda in Gloucester. It was established as a grange farm for Llanthony Secunda Priory in the 12th century with the lands in Caldicot being given to the monastery in 1137. It is a Grade II* listed building. The adjacent barn has its own Grade II listing.
Monmouthshire is a county of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with other large settlements being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996. It has an area of 850 km2 (330 sq mi), with a population of 93,200 as of 2021. Monmouthshire comprises some sixty per cent of the historic county, and was known as Gwent between 1974 and 1996.