Abbeycwmhir
Encyclopedia
Abbeycwmhir or Abbey Cwmhir is a village in the valley of the Clywedog
brook in Powys
, Wales
.
, the Cistercian abbey
built there in 1143. It was the largest Abbey in Wales but was never completed. Its fourteen bay nave was longer than Canterbury and Salisbury Cathedral naves and twice as long as that at St. Davids. It was a daughter house of Whitland Abbey
, and constructed at the behest of three sons of Madog, the then Prince of southern Powys. The first community at Dyvanner failed because of the intervention of Hugh de Mortimer
, Earl of Hereford
but in 1176 the Rhys ap Gruffydd
of Deheubarth re-established the Abbey on land given by Cadwallon ap Madog
. Llewelyn ap Gruffydd is buried near the altar in the nave. The abbey was burned by the forces of Owain Glyndwr
in 1401. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in March 1537 only 3 monks lived in the abbey.
The Abbey was slighted
in 1644, during the English Civil War
, although some ruins still remain. There is a memorial stone to Llywelyn the Last
, the last native Prince of Wales
of direct descent, whose body is buried there.
Clywedog
Clywedog may refer to:* River Clywedog, a tributary of River Dee near Wrexham* A tributary of the River Mawddach* Clywedog Reservoir, a reservoir in the Welsh county of Powys* River Clywedog, Denbigh, a tributary of the River Clwyd...
brook in Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
The Abbey
The village is named after Cwmhir AbbeyCwmhir Abbey
Cwmhir Abbey , near Llandrindod Wells in Powys, is a Welsh Cistercian monastery founded in 1176 by Cadwallon ap Madog. A spurious tale was later recorded that the abbey was founded in 1143 by Meredudd ap Maelgwn at Ty-faenor, and then refounded at the present location near the village of...
, the Cistercian abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
built there in 1143. It was the largest Abbey in Wales but was never completed. Its fourteen bay nave was longer than Canterbury and Salisbury Cathedral naves and twice as long as that at St. Davids. It was a daughter house of Whitland Abbey
Whitland Abbey
Whitland Abbey was a Cistercian abbey near Whitland in south-west Wales, now in Carmarthenshire.Whitland was founded on 16 September 1140 by monks from the mother house of Clairvaux. In 1144 it was located at Little Trefgarn near Haverfordwest. It moved to Whitland in about 1155, a site having...
, and constructed at the behest of three sons of Madog, the then Prince of southern Powys. The first community at Dyvanner failed because of the intervention of Hugh de Mortimer
Mortimer
Mortimer is a popular English name, used both as a surname and a given name.- Norman origins :The origin of the name is almost certainly Norman, but the details are disputed....
, Earl of Hereford
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
but in 1176 the Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales. He is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, but this title may not have been used in his lifetime...
of Deheubarth re-established the Abbey on land given by Cadwallon ap Madog
Cadwallon ap Madog
Cadwallon ap Madog was the son of Madog ab Idnerth who had died in 1140, while Idnerth was a grandson of Elystan Glodrydd who had died in around 1010 and had founded a dynasty in the Middle Marches of Wales, in the area known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren .-Prince of Maelienydd:After the death of Madog ab...
. Llewelyn ap Gruffydd is buried near the altar in the nave. The abbey was burned by the forces of Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
in 1401. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in March 1537 only 3 monks lived in the abbey.
The Abbey was slighted
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
in 1644, during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, although some ruins still remain. There is a memorial stone to Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
, the last native Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
of direct descent, whose body is buried there.
Places of note
- The village church of St Mary was rebuilt in the neo-ByzantineByzantineByzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
style by Mary Beatrice Philips in 1866. She was a grand daughter of Francis Philips who purchased the Abbeycwmhir estate in 1837 with money from the cotton-trade. It replaced a church built in 1680. Soon after the Victorian church was built, the Rev. Francis KilvertFrancis KilvertRobert Francis Kilvert , always known as Francis, or Frank, was born at The Rectory, Hardenhuish Lane, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, to the Rev. Robert Kilvert, Rector of Langley Burrell, Wiltshire, and Thermuthis, daughter of Walter Coleman and Thermuthis Ashe...
visited. - The Happy Union Inn is a grade II listed building. The age of the building is something of a mystery together with its name and unusual pub sign. The present owner is the 3rd generation of his family to run the pub.
- Abbey Cwmhir HallAbbey Cwmhir HallAbbey-Cwm-Hir Hall is a neo-Elizabethan country house in the Welsh county of Powys. It was built in 1833 for Thomas Wilson on the site of a house built c.1656 for the Fowler family, which was later owned by the Hastings family, Earls of Huntingdon...
: an Elizabethan-style house built in 1833 by Thomas Wilson, then owner of the Abbeycwmhir estate. It replaced a smaller Tudor-styleTudor style architectureThe Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
house. It is open to the public.