Strata Marcella

Last updated

Strata Marcella Abbey
Strata Marcella - geograph.org.uk - 654876.jpg
Commemoration of eighth century of Abbey's foundation
Religion
Affiliation Catholicism, Cistercians
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Ruin. Abbey dissolved 1536, stone sold to build local churches.
Year consecrated 1170
Location
LocationNear Welshpool, Powys, Wales
Wales relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Strata Marcella Abbey shown within Wales
Geographic coordinates 52°41′10″N3°06′33″W / 52.686119°N 3.109249°W / 52.686119; -3.109249 Coordinates: 52°41′10″N3°06′33″W / 52.686119°N 3.109249°W / 52.686119; -3.109249
Architecture
Type Monastery
Style Cistercian
Specifications
Length273 feet
Width96 feet

The Abbey of Strata Marcella (Welsh : Abaty Ystrad Marchell) was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell (Strata Marcella being the Latinised form of the Welsh name) on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys, Wales.

Contents

Founding

The abbey lay within the diocese of St Asaph, and the abbey church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was founded in 1170 by Owain Cyfeiliog Prince of Powys, as a daughter house of the Abbey at Whitland. Within two years the Abbey had moved a short distance to the present site but excavations have found no evidence of any early structures before construction in stone started in 1190 so it is likely the earliest buildings were simple wooden structures. Building work continued until the early 13th century, by which time Strata Marcella had become the largest Cistercian Abbey in Wales. Its nave was 200 feet long. It was monks from Strata Marcella who went to the Vale of Llangollen in 1200 to found the Abbey of Valle Crucis.

Welsh Independence

Gerald of Wales tells of an abbot Enoc (c. 1190, possibly the founding abbot), who was guilty of misconduct with a nun and abandoned the habit. [1] When advanced in years, Prince Owain retired to the monastery and took the habit of the Cistercian monks. On his death, in 1197, he was buried in the grounds of the abbey. His son Gwenwynwyn (ob. 1216) took over lordship of the abbey and increased its endowments; [2] 45 charters, many from the Wynnstay Estate Archives, survive in the National Library of Wales and elsewhere recording such benefactions to the Abbey, and it became a religious house of wealth and importance. [3] Owain's son Gruffyd ap Gwenwynwyn, lord of Powys, entered a monastery when he was close to death about 1260, but recovered during his stay; it is thought that this abbey was Strata Marcella, which was near his seat at Pool.

Strata Marcella was one of a number of Cistercian abbeys founded by Welsh princes which were independent of the Norman-founded abbeys in England. As such they tended to support the Welsh princes in their struggles against King Edward I of England and the Marcher Lords. Because of this the Abbey suffered much damage during the Welsh wars of independence, and by the fourteenth century was in a state of poverty. In 1332, the local feudal lord, John de Cherleton, accused the abbot and monks of working against English rule in Wales; he evicted all the Welsh monks, sending them to English houses, and replacing them with English monks from Buildwas Abbey in Shropshire.

Owain Glyndŵr

During the Owain Glyndŵr rising at the beginning of the 15th century the buildings were heavily damaged and the monastery never completely recovered.

The Dissolution

The abbey was finally closed in 1536 at the dissolution of the monasteries in England and Wales, when its income was valued at no more than £64 a year. [4] At that time there were only four monks at the abbey and Edward Grey, the third Baron Grey of Powis, had already purchased the site and had removed everything of value. The stone from the buildings was sold and used to build several local churches, including a capital in the church of All Saints at Buttington. [5] Today the only visible remains are a few courses of stones from the church and cloister in a meadow beside the infant River Severn.

Excavations

The site was excavated in 1890 by Stephen W. Williams for the Powysland Club. The church had an overall length of 273 feet, with an aisled nave 201 feet long, transepts were 96 feet long with a short rectangular chancel, and a 30 ft square tower at the crossing. The long period of building was from c. 1190 till the early C14. There were buttresses, including clasping buttresses at the west end. The red sandstone columns of the ten-bay nave had the Early English pattern of shafts clustered on piers. Transitional and stiff-leaf capitals of great beauty reflect the sculptural developments between c. 1190 and c. 1210. Much of this space was occupied by two monks' choirs. It seems that the elaborate doorway to one of these may have been the original west doorway. Pier stones with 14th century wavy mouldings were found on the site of the tower. The cloister on the south was not excavated. [6] Finds, including 13th century tiles and stone fragments, are in the Powysland Museum, Welshpool.

Recently, [ when? ] the site of Strata Marcella has been resurveyed by Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust and this has modified some of Stephen Williams' findings.

Literature

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwenwynwyn</span> King of Powys

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basingwerk Abbey</span> Ruin of an abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strata Florida Abbey</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welshpool</span> Town in Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathrafal</span> Fortification in Powys, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powys Wenwynwyn</span> Welsh kingdom (1160–1283)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cymer Abbey</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanllugan Abbey</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valle Crucis Abbey</span> Abbey in Denbighshire, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maenan Abbey</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen W. Williams</span> Architect and civil engineer (1837–1899)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Beuno's Church, Bettws Cedewain</span> Church in Powys, Wales

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ystrad Marchell</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Y Gorddwr</span>

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Welshpool</span> Church in Powys, Wales

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.

References

  1. D. Knowles, The Monastic Order in England (Cambridge University Press, 1940), p. 665
  2. D. Robinson (ed.), The Cistercian Abbeys of Britain (London, 1998), p. 179.
  3. National Library of Wales website s.v. stratamarcella
  4. Knowles & Hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales, p. 116
  5. Monastic Wales website
  6. Williams S. (1891), (with Jones M C), Excavations on the site of Strata Marcella Abbey, Montgomeryshire Collections, Vol 25