| Maenan Abbey | |
|---|---|
 Maenan Abbey | |
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| General information | |
| Location | Near Llanrwst, Conwy |
| Country | Wales |
| Coordinates | 53°10′28″N3°48′45″W / 53.17444°N 3.81250°W |
| Completed | 1283 |
Maenan Abbey (formally: The Abbey Church of Saint Mary and All Saints; alternatively: Abaty Maenan, or Maynan Abbey; now Maenan Abbey Hotel) was a monastic religious house located in Maenan, Conwy, Wales. It is situated near Llanrwst.
A Cistercian community was founded at Rhedynog Felen near Caernarfon in 1186 by a group of monks from Strata Florida Abbey. In 1190/91, they moved to Conwy, establishing Aberconwy Abbey, and in 1283, they transferred to Maenan after a forced move by order of Edward I, this abbey's founder, [1] who had decided to build a castle on the site of the monks' former home at Aberconwy. [2] The Abbey was dedicated to Saint Mary and All Saints. The new monastery was regarded as an English royal foundation - King Edward was present at the foundation, and arranged the finances to construct the abbey buildings, donating a set of glass windows. [3] In the Valor Ecclesiasticus survey of 1535, the abbey's income was assessed at £162, putting it among the smaller houses that were first to be suppressed as part of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. [3] Due to the efforts of Abbot Richard ap Robert, the abbey at Maenan continued to exist until March 1537. At this point, the abbey's revenue was valued at £179 10s. 10d. [2]
In 1563, the site of the abbey was given to Elizeus Wynne, who was also granted the township of Maenan itself. Wynne demolished many of the abbey's buildings, and used the materials to construct a new mansion on the site. [2] [4] Reused materials from the abbey were also incorporated in Gwydir Castle. The stone coffin of Prince Llewelyn the Great was moved from the abbey to the Gwydir Chapel at the church in Llanrwst. [4] More materials were removed to repair the justice's hall at Caernarfon. Only a small arch remains of the original edifice, which was described in Samuel Lewis' topographical dictionary as "remarkable for the pleasantness of its situation and the beauty of its architecture". [2]
In 1885, the Cambrian Archaeological Association noted discrepancies regarding the subsequent history of the Maenan Abbey estate:
Dugdale says, in his Monasticon, vol. v, p. 671:—"In 26 Henry VIII, the revenues of Conway, otherwise Maynan Abbey, amounted in clear income to £162 15s., in gross revenue to £179 10s. 10d. The site was granted in the fifth year of Queen Elizabeth to Elizaeus Wynne, in whose family it still continues, Lord Newborough being the present owner. A large house built from the materials of the abbey still remains." On the other hand, in the pedigree of Wynne of Garthewin, we find it stated that William Wynne of Melai married Mary, heiress of Maenan Abbey, being a daughter and co-heir of Sir Richard Clough of Plas Clough, Denbighshire. [5] She died in 1632, and the abbey descended in the male line to John Wynne of Melai and Maenan, Sheriff of Denbighshire in 1712, who married Sydney, second daughter of Sir William Williams of Llanvorda, by whom he left two co-heirs, of whom Jane, the elder, married Sir John Wynn of Bodvean, and was so mother of Thomas Wynn, created Lord Newborough, 23 July 1776. [4]
The grounds were excavated in 1963. [6] In modern times, the site was developed into the Maenan Abbey Hotel. In 2011, three medieval walls were found in the grounds at Maenan Abbey Hotel while workmen were working on the drainage. They are believed to be the cloister walls, about 6 ft thick, dated to 1282. [7] Cadw visited the site to assess the excavations.
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Until 1974, Caernarfonshire, sometimes spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was an administrative county in the north-west of Wales, later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales.
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Aberconwy Abbey was a Cistercian foundation at Conwy, later transferred to Maenan near Llanrwst, and in the 13th century was the most important abbey in the north of Wales.
Gwydir Castle is situated in the Conwy valley, Wales, a mile to the west of the ancient market town of Llanrwst and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south of the large village of Trefriw. An example of a fortified manor house dating back to c. 1500, it is located on the edge of the floodplain of the river Conwy, and overlooked from the west by the now-forested slopes of Gwydir Forest.
Llanrhychwyn is a hamlet in Conwy county borough, Wales. It lies in the Conwy valley, less than a mile south of Trefriw, and a mile north-west of Llanrwst. Today neighbouring Trefriw is a village with a population of around 600, but in the time of Llywelyn Fawr, and up to the early 19th century, Llanrhychwyn was larger than Trefriw, which consisted simply of "a few houses here and there". Indeed, even today both Trefriw and Llanrhychwyn lie within the parish of Llanrhychwyn. The area around Llanrhychwyn had a population of only 178 in 2011.
Ysbyty Ifan is a small, historic village and community in the Conwy County Borough of Wales. The population in 2011 was 196 in 76 households, over 79% of the population were able to speak Welsh. It has one of the smallest populations of any Welsh community, the smallest being Ganllwyd. It is in the electoral ward of Uwch Conwy.
This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire.
Llanfair Talhaiarn, abbreviated to Llanfair TH, is a village and community approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Abergele in Conwy county borough, Wales. Until 1974 it was included in Denbighshire. The population was 979 in 2001, increasing to 1,070 at the 2011 census with 44% being Welsh language speakers.
Maenan is a rural settlement in Conwy, Wales, located approximately 4 miles to the north of Llanrwst and 3 miles to the south of the village of Eglwysbach. The population of the area is approximately 300 people, and more than 75% of the population are Welsh speakers. Maenan shares a community council with the nearby village of Llanddoged. The A470 trunk road passes through Maenan. The 2001 census shows that the villages of Llanddoged and Maenan had a combined population of 574.
Llanddoged and Maenan is a community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It is located in the Conwy Valley, on the eastern bank of the River Conwy, 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north east of Llanrwst, 15.7 miles (25.3 km) south west of Abergele and 13.3 miles (21.4 km) south of Conwy. The community includes the village of Llanddoged and the rural settlements around Maenan. At the 2001 census it had a population of 574, increasing to 602 at the 2011 census.
John Wynne (1689–1718), of Maenan Abbey and Melai, Denbighshire, was a Welsh politician.
The Free Borough of Llanrwst was a special privilege granted to the Welsh town of Llanrwst by the Prince of Wales. Llanrwst is now a small town and community on the River Conwy in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It takes its name from the 5th- to 6th-century Saint Grwst. Llanrwst developed around the wool trade, partly because of an edict prohibiting any Welshman from trading within 10 miles (16 km) of Conwy, as Llanrwst was 13 miles (21 km) away and well placed to benefit.
The Church of St Mary & All Saints is the parish church of Conwy, Wales in the United Kingdom. It was originally the Cistercian Aberconwy Abbey, but in 1283 King Edward I of England moved the Abbey to Maenan. The parish registers date back to 1541.
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