October 1131-1536 A.D. Tintern Abbey, Southern Wales (Near Gloucester & Bristol)
October 1131-1536 A.D. Tintern Abbey, Southern Wales (Near Gloucester & Bristol)
No author. “Tintern Abbey.” Llyodreath Cyrnru Welsh Government. N.d. http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/tinternabbey/?lang=en. Accessed 26 Sept 2014.
Tintern Abbey
The appeal of this exceptional Cistercian abbey remains as enduring as ever
An area of outstanding beauty
complemented by this outstanding beauty in stone. If only the walls could talk!
The chants of countless monks echo through the masonry here. Despite the shell
of this grand structure being open to the skies, it remains the best-preserved
medieval abbey in Wales. Although the abbey church was rebuilt under the
patronage of Roger Bigod, lord of nearby Chepstow Castle, in the late 13th
century, the monastery retains its original design.
Tintern was only the second
Cistercian foundation in Britain, and the first in Wales. The present-day
remains are a mixture of building works covering a 400-year period between 1131
and 1536. Very little remains of the first buildings but you will marvel at the
vast windows and later decorative details displayed in the walls, doorways and
soaring archways.
The lands of the abbey were
divided into agricultural units or granges, worked on by lay brothers.
On September 3, 1536 Abbot
Wyche surrendered Tintern Abbey to King Henry VIII’s officials and ended a way
of life which had lasted 400 years.
There’s a lot still going on
at Tintern Abbey 500 years on! A major two-year programme of conservation work
has been completed on the iconic 13th-century west front – one of the great
glories of Gothic architecture in Britain. The statue of Our Lady of Tintern is
installed in the south aisle of the abbey for all to see.
Planning a holiday or short
break in the Wye Valley? Beaufort Cottage — an eighteenth-century property
restored by Cadw — is luxuriously comfortable and has an amazing view of the
abbey from its bedroom window. Find out more about this
charming cottage.
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