Abbeys and Priories of Medieval Wales

Karen Stöber, Janet Burton

Description

Abbeys and Priories of Medieval Wales is the first comprehensive, illustrated guide to the religious houses of Wales from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries. It offers a thorough introduction to the history of the monastic orders in Wales (the Benedictines, Cluniacs, Augustinians, Premonstratensians, Cistercians, the military orders and the friars), and to life inside medieval Welsh monasteries and nunneries, in addition to providing the histories of almost sixty communities of religious men and women, with descriptions of the standing remains of their buildings. As well as a being a scholarly book, a number of maps, ground plans and practical information make this an indispensable guide for visitors to Wales’s monastic heritage.

Sujets

• buildings
• Wales
• Architecture

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 15 février 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783161829
• Langue: English

Extrait

ABBEYS AND PRIORIES
OF MEDIEVAL WALES
ABBEYS AND PRIORIES
OF MEDIEVAL WALES

JANET BURTON AND KAREN ST BER
Janet Burton and Karen St ber, 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Applications for the copyright owner s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to The University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff CF10 4UP.
www.uwp.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-78316-179-9 (hardback)
978-1-78316-180-5 (paperback)
eISBN: 978-1-78316-182-9
The right of Janet Burton and Karen St ber to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Cover image: Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire, Wales. Photograph Billy Stock/Photo library Wales.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
List of maps
List of images
Abbreviations
Introduction
Foreword to Gazetteer
Gazetteer of Abbeys and Priories
Glossary
Bibliography
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
T HE ABBEYS AND PRIORIES of medieval Wales have always had their admirers. Ever since the monastic period came to an abrupt end here in the sixteenth century, local people and travellers alike have marvelled at the ruins left behind by what had once been such a prominent presence in the Welsh landscape. This book has grown out of the authors wish to make the monastic heritage of Wales more visible, and more accessible to a wider audience.
In a larger context Abbeys and Priories of Medieval Wales is a part of the Monastic Wales project ( www.monasticwales.org ) and our first thanks go to those who were formative in the planning and on-going work in its development, that is Nigel Callaghan of Technoleg Taliesin, Martin Crampin of the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales, and especially to Julie Kerr. During the making of this book we have had much help, advice, and encouragement from many people, whom we would like to thank here. We owe a special thank you to Martin Crampin for supplying many photographs and making the maps for Abbeys and Priories, and for all his tireless help and support throughout. Stuart Harrison has been most generous in allowing us access to his library of images. We are also grateful to Jane Cartwright for the photograph of the stained glass in Llanllugan, and to postgraduate students in the School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology at University of Wales Trinity Saint David (Lampeter Campus), who have engaged with the Monastic Wales project over the years, and who have supplied images for us, especially Paul Watkins, Therron Welstead, and Ian Bass. Thanks also to the commissioning staff at the University of Wales Press, Angharad Watkins and Llion Wigley, the press s Production Manager Si n Chapman and the press s Editor Dafydd Jones, for all their help in the editorial process.
To Dani Leiva a big and special thank you for the lovely drawings he did for us. We are also grateful to David Robinson for letting us use his monastic ground plans, and to Cadw, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, and the National Library of Wales for permission to reproduce their images.
Finally, we are very grateful to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David for generous financial support in the publication of this book, and to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competivity who fund the research project Auctoritas. Esgl sia, Cultura i Poder, s.XII-XV (HAR2012-31484).
We would like to dedicate this book to four special people, and hope that they will enjoy visiting some of the sites we describe.
To Megan Isabelle and Lara Sofia
Janet Burton (Lampeter)
Karen St ber (Lleida)
January 2015
LIST OF MAPS
Map 1:
The Benedictines and Cluniacs in Wales
Map 2:
The Cistercians, Savigniacs and Premonstratensians in Wales
Map 3:
The Regular Canons and Knights Hospitaller in Wales
Map 4:
The Friars in Wales
LIST OF IMAGES
BLACK AND WHITE
1. Aberconwy Abbey: Rood Screen, Church of St Mary and All Saints, Conwy (c.1497-1501). Photograph: Martin Crampin.
2. Aberconwy Abbey (Maenan): Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw and reproduced with permission of the author from David Robinson, The Cistercians In Wales. Architecture and Archaeology 1130-1540 (London: Society of Antiquaries, 2006) Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
3. Abergavenny Priory: The fifteenth-century Jesse Tree. Photograph: Therron Welstead.
4. Abergavenny Priory: The tomb of Sir William Hastings (d.1348). Photograph: Karen St ber.
5. Bardsey Abbey: Remains of the abbey. View from the south. Photograph: RCAHMW digital photographic survey of St Marys Abbey, Bardsey, taken by iain Wright, 06/09/2009. Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Hawlfraint y Goron: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru.
6. Basingwerk Abbey: Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw and reproduced with permission of the author from David Robinson, The Cistercians In Wales. Architecture and Archaeology 1130-1540 (London: Society of Antiquaries, 2006) Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
7. Basingwerk Abbey (Holywell): Crutches left at Holywell by modern-day pilgrims. Photograph: Karen St ber.
8. Basingwerk Abbey: Part of the drainage system. Photograph: Karen St ber.
9. Basingwerk Abbey: Arcading in the west wall of the refectory. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
10. Beddgelert Priory: Exterior of the church. Photograph: Dani Leiva.
11. Brecon Benedictine Priory: Twelfth-century Romanesque font with heads and animal ornamentation. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
12. Brecon Dominican Friary: Carved wooden figure from the fourteenth-century choir stalls. Photograph: Paul Watkins.
13. Brecon Dominican Friary: Exterior of the former Dominican church. Photograph: Paul Watkins.
14. Caldey Priory : Exterior of the church. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
15. Artist s impression of a chapter meeting in a Benedictine monastery. Drawing: Dani Leiva.
16. Chepstow Priory: Exterior of the church from the west. Photograph: Paul Watkins.
17. Cwmhir Abbey: Remains of the nave. Drawing: Dani Leiva.
18. Denbigh Friary: Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
19. Denbigh Friary: General exterior view of the Carmelite Friary in c. 1946. Photograph: E. Le Grice. Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales Hawlfraint y Goron: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru.
20. Ewenny Priory: Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
21. Ewenny Priory: Carved animal head (c.1120). Photograph: Martin Crampin.
22. Ewenny Priory: Interior of the church. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
23. Aerial view of Goldcliff Point. Photograph: RCAHMW aerial photograph of Goldcliff Priory, taken by C. R. Musson, 18 July 1994. Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales Hawlfraint y Goron: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru.
24. Haverfordwest Augustinian Priory: Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
25. Kidwelly Priory: Exterior of the church. Photograph: Therron Welstead.
26. Llanfaes Friary: Siwan s tomb, now in the parish church at Beaumaris. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
27. Llangenydd Priory: Exterior of the church. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
28. Llangua Priory : Exterior of the church. Photograph: Therron Welstead.
29. Llanllugan Abbey : Exterior of the church. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
30. Llanthony Priory : Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
31. Llanthony Priory: The west front of the church. Photograph: Dani Leiva.
32. Malpas Church, Monmouthshire. Worthington G. Smith, 1879, engraving after J. O. Westwood, c.1850.
33. Margam Abbey: Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw and reproduced with permission of the author from David Robinson, The Cistercians in Wales. Architecture and Archaeology 1130-1540 (London: Society of Antiquaries, 2006) Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
34. Artist s impression of Cistercian monks in a refectory. Drawing: Dani Leiva.
35. Margam Abbey: The west front of the church. Photograph: Janet Burton.
36. Neath Abbey: Carved stone head. Drawing: Dani Leiva.
37. Neath Abbey: Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw and reproduced with permission of the author from David Robinson, The Cistercians in Wales. Architecture and Archaeology 1130-1540 (London: Society of Antiquaries, 2006) Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
38. Artist s impression of the night stairs in a Cistercian monastery. Drawing: Dani Leiva.
39. Neath Abbey: The lay brothers lane in the west cloister alley. Photograph: Paul Watkins.
40. Neath Abbey: View from the north aisle with the Tudor house in the background. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
41. Pembroke (Monkton) Priory: Exterior of the church. Photograph: Paul Watkins.
42. Pembroke (Monkton) Priory: The undercroft, Monkton Old Hall. Photograph: Nigel Callaghan.
43. Penmon Priory: Ground plan, illustration supplied by Cadw Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright).
44. Penmon Priory: Interior of the south cloister range. Photograph: Karen St ber.
45. Penmon Priory: Mid-twelfth-century tympanum. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
46. Penmon Priory: Detail of the tower arch. Photograph: Martin Crampin.
47. Puffin Island: Exterior view of the monastic church. Photograph: RCAHMW archive, 17 March 1929. Crown