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Strata Florida
Abbey near Tregaron
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Strata Florida Abbey
(Abaty Ystrad Fflur) is a former Cistercian abbey
situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron,
and was originally founded in 1164. The name
Strata Florida is a corruption of the Welsh Ystrad Fflur,
meaning Valley of (the river of) Flowers. Ystrad
corrupts into Strata, while Fflur (flowers) is the name
of the nearby river. left: an 1850 lithograph of
the Abbey |
After the region around St. David's
was firmly occupied by the Norman Marcher lordship of
Pembroke by the early 12th century, with St. David's
firmly under Norman influence thereafter, the princely
Dinefwr family of Deheubarth transferred their patronage
to Strata Florida, interring many of their family
members there.
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The West Doorway is the largest part
of the Abbey remaining intact
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A modern roof protects an area of
mediaeval tiling, where one can still
see some of the designs.
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A View across the Abbey towards
the West Doorway
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There is a little confusion over the actual founding of the
monastery. It was founded by a group of monks from Whitland
Abbey, at a time of very fast expansion of the Cistercians,
the White Monks. Building actually began on a different site
on the banks of the Afon Fflur (from which the present Abbey
takes its name), a short distance from the present site.
Currently farm land, there are stories that huge stones were
unearthed on the original site, known as Hen Fynachlog (the
Old Monastery), though how true this is has yet to be
formally investigated. Overall, it is considered that the
Abbey was founded around 1164 A.D. thanks to the patronage
of the Lord Rhys, which is why many of his descendants were
buried there. In 1184, a further charter was issued by Lord
Rhys re-affirming Strata Florida as a monastery under the
patronage of Deheubarth.
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St Mary's Church beside the Abbey at Strata
Florida was built in 1815, replacing an
earlier building. It was restored in 1875 and
again in 1914.
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Strata Florida was not excused from the wrath of Henry VIII,
and the monastery was dissolved in the 1540s by the church
commissioners. The refectory and dormitory were rebuilt into
a gentry house, now known as Ty Abaty, which was owned by a
number of families, including the Steadmans and the Powells
of Nanteos.
Sir John Vaughan, of Trawsgoed, acquired from Thomas
Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex much of the former monastic
lands of the Cistercian abbey at Strata Florida.
The monastery buildings themselves were largely demolished,
with the stone going to be recycled in surrounding
buildings, such as potentially the great barn complex by Ty
Abaty. A complex site, it is still unknown what buildings
were contemporary with the monastery and repaired with stone
plundered from other Monastery buildings, and which were
built new from the plundered stone. It is also unknown
whether the present parish church of St. Mary, within the
boundaries of the graveyard, was built from robbed stone, or
is a rebuild of what would have been the visitor's chapel
for the monastery.
Current times and prices
Dates - 1 November 2011 - 31 March 2012
Times - Daily 10.00am - 4.00pm
Free entry during this period
Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Closed 24, 25, 26 December and 1 January
Prices from March 31st
Adult - £3.20
Family - £9.20*
Senior citizens, students and children under 16 - £2.80
Disabled and companion - Am ddim/Free
*Admits 2 adults & all children under 16
There is a small visitor centre open in the summer
months.
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