Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threat to the rule of Llywelyn the Great.
Basingwerk Abbey is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the English county of Derbyshire. The abbey was abandoned and its assets sold following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536.
Strata Florida Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. Strata Florida is a Latinisation of the Welsh Ystrad Fflur; 'Valley of Flowers'; the Welsh word ystrad is synonymous with strath and dale, while fflur ("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.
Welshpool is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is four miles from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name Y Trallwng means "the marshy or sinking land". The community includes Cloddiau and Pool Quay.
Mathrafal near Welshpool, in Powys, Mid Wales, was the seat of the Kings and Princes of Powys probably from the 9th century until its destruction in 1213 by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
Owain ap Gruffydd was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is known as Owain Gwynedd.
Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was a Welsh kingdom which existed during the high Middle Ages. The realm was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160: the northern portion (Maelor) went to Gruffydd Maelor and eventually became known as Powys Fadog; while the southern portion (Cyfeiliog) going to Owain Cyfeiliog and becoming known, eventually, as Powys Wenwynwyn after Prince Gwenwynwyn ab Owain, its second ruler.
Cymer Abbey is a ruined Cistercian abbey near the village of Llanelltyd, just north of Dolgellau, Gwynedd, in north-west Wales, United Kingdom.
Staylittle, sometimes referred to colloquially as Y Stay or Y Stae, is a small village set in the shallow upland basin of the Afon Clywedog on the B4518 road, equidistant from Llanidloes and Llanbrynmair in the historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, although now administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys.
Llanllugan Abbey was a monastery of Cistercian nuns, one of only two Cistercian women's monasteries in Wales, located at Llanllugan, Powys, Wales. An early charter to Llanllugan nunnery was issued by Maredudd ap Rhobert, Lord of Cedewain, probably some time in the early thirteenth century. Maredudd's charter provided the nuns with their core estates in the township of Llanllugan between the two streams of the Rhiw. The abbey's other estates include Hydan grange in Castle Caereinion and Cowney in Llangadfan. Llanllugan also received income from appropriated churches, the rectory of Llanfair Caereinion was granted by Bishop Hugh of St Asaph in 1239 and Llanllwchairan by Bishop Anian of St Asaph in 1263. It was founded as a dependency of the Cistercian monks at the Abbey of Strata Marcella. The former monastery church survives as the parish church of Llanllugan. However, the site of the abbey buildings remains uncertain: they might have been in a meadow 200 metres to the south of the church.
Valle Crucis Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located in Llantysilio in Denbighshire, Wales. More formally the Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Valle Crucis it is known in Welsh both as Abaty Glyn Egwestl and Abaty Glyn y Groes. The abbey was built in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, Prince of Powys Fadog. Valle Crucis was dissolved in 1537 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and subsequently fell into serious disrepair. The building is now a ruin, though large parts of the original structure still survive. Valle Crucis Abbey is now under the care of Cadw. The abbey received 5,690 visitors in 2018.
Tyfrydog was a Christian from north-west Wales in the fifth or sixth century, who was later venerated as a saint. He is said to have established a church in Anglesey, and although no part of the original structure remains, the current church is still dedicated to him. A nearby standing stone is said to be the remains of a man who he punished for stealing a bible from the church.
Maenan Abbey was a monastic religious house located in Maenan, Conwy, Wales. It is situated near Llanrwst.
A clas was a native Christian church in early medieval Wales. Unlike later Norman monasteries, which were made up of a main religious building supported by several smaller buildings, such as cloisters and kitchens, a clas was normally a single building. The building was run by a community of clergy and headed by an abod. Clasau were autonomous and were administered locally.
Stephen W Williams or Stephen Williams (1837–1899) was a civil engineer and architect who worked mainly in Radnorshire and Breconshire, Wales. He was county surveyor of Radnorshire from 1864 to 1899. He had offices at Rhayader and lived at Penralley House, Rhayader, He became a noted authority on the archaeology of the Cistercian Monasteries in Wales and undertook excavations at Strata Florida Abbey in Ceredigion, Abbey Cwm Hir in Radnorshire and Strata Marcella near Welshpool in Montgomeryshire. He was appointed High Sheriff of Radnorshire in 1899.
St Beuno's Church, Bettws Cedewain lies within the historic county of Montgomeryshire in Powys. The church occupies a prominent position overlooking the village of Bettws Cedewain, on the northern edge of the valley of the Bechan Brook which flows into the River Severn. Bettws is about 9 miles to the south-west of Welshpool. The church is a single-chambered structure with a western tower, set in a near-circular churchyard. A campanile or bellcote was added to the earlier tower in the early 16th century by the vicar, John ap Meredyth, whose memorial brass remains in the church to-day. The church was extensively rebuilt in 1868 under the supervision of the architect William Eden Nesfield. This included a complete rebuild of the upper part of the tower
Ystrad Marchell sometimes Strad Marchell was a medieval commote (cwmwd) in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It roughly coincides with the parish of Welshpool.
Y Gorddwr was a medieval commote (cwmwd) in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It was on the eastern side of the River Severn bordering England, on the west it was bordered by two of the other commotes of Ystlyg - Deuddwr in the north and Ystrad Marchell in the south. Its Welsh name could mean "the upper water"; gor- "upper-", dŵr "water".
St Mary's Church, Welshpool, in the Diocese of St Asaph, is the Anglican parish church of Welshpool, Powys, Wales. The church is a Grade I listed building.
