
The Abbey of St Mary (also known as St Dogmaels Abbey) is Grade I listed ruined
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
in
St Dogmaels
St Dogmaels () is a village, parish and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Teifi, a mile downstream from the town of Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan in neighbouring Ceredigion. A little to the nor ...
in
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, on the banks of the
River Teifi
The River Teifi ( ; , ), formerly anglicised as Tivy, forms the boundary for most of its length between the Welsh counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, and for the final of its total length of , the boundary between Ceredigion and Pembr ...
and close to
Cardigan and
Poppit Sands
Poppit is a small, dispersed settlement which lies on the southern side of the estuary of the River Teifi, near Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan, in northern Pembrokeshire, Wales.
It is primarily known for its popular sandy beach, called Pop ...
.
It is the ruins of a medieval abbey, originally founded in 1115 by the
Fitzmartin
FitzMartin or Fitz Martin was the surname of a Normans, Norman family based in England and Wales between 1085 and 1342.
Earliest Generations
The earliest well-documented progenitor of this family was Robert fitz Martin, Robert Lords of Cemais, ...
family of
Cemais. It was established by the
Order of Tiron
The Tironensian Order or the Order of Tiron was a medieval monastic order named after the location of the mother abbey (Tiron Abbey, , established in 1109) in the woods of Thiron-Gardais (sometimes ''Tiron'') in Perche, some 35 miles west of Char ...
, a medieval monastic order, which owned a large number of priories and abbeys in France, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
It is now in ruins, but substantial parts of the abbey remain, including the western end wall, the north wall, the north
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
, and eastern walls of the crypt. There are also several monastic buildings which survive to the south of the abbey and a detached 13th century building, most likely an infirmary, which is located to the south east.
History
The site of the abbey is thought to have been the location of a Celtic monastery founded by
Dogmael
Saint Dogmael (or Docmael, Dogfael, Dogmeel, Dogwel, Toel) was a 6th-century Welsh monk and preacher who is considered a saint. His feast day is 14 June.
Life
Dogmael (or Dogfael, Dogwel) was of the house of Cunedda, descended from the kings of ...
, a 6th-century saint said to have been the son of Ithel ap Ceredig ap Cunedda Wledig, and also reputedly the cousin of
Saint David
David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales.
David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...
.
The abbey itself was founded by the Normal Lord
Robert Fitz-Martin and his wife, Maud Peverel (sister of
William Peverel
William Peverel (died 28 January 1114), Latinised to Gulielmus Piperellus), was a Norman knight granted lands in England following the Norman Conquest.
Origins
Little is known of the origin of the William Peverel the Elder. Of his immediat ...
the younger, d.1149), who brought thirteen monks of the
Tironensian Order
The Tironensian Order or the Order of Tiron was a medieval Roman Catholic religious order, monastic order named after the location of the Mother Church, mother abbey (Tiron Abbey, , established in 1109) in the woods of Thiron-Gardais (sometimes '' ...
in
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
to live in at the
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
. In 1118, he was then given another 13 monks and gained permission to raise the classification of the priory to Abbey status. Formal establishment of this took place 10 September 1121, when Fulchard was installed as the first Abbot by
Bishop Bernard of St David's.
It remained a daughter house of Tiron, probably until its dissolution. However, in 1138, the village and abbey of St Dogmaels were sacked by
Gruffudd ap Cynan
Gruffudd ap Cynan (–1137) was List of rulers of Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to House of Normandy, Norman rule.
As a descen ...
's sons,
Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...
and
Cadwaladr
Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 664 or 682. He died in one of two devastating plagues that happened in 664 and in 682. Little else is known of his reig ...
, acting with princes Anaraud and Cadell with the help of Danish mercenaries.
It is possible that a major building project in 1150–53 was intended to repair damage caused by the attack. In 1188,
Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...
stayed at the abbey with
Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, whilst they gathered support for the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...
on their preaching tour of Wales.
The abbey was also known for its library. One manuscript, a 13th-century copy of
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
's
Historia Ecclesiastica, survives and is housed in
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
.
The abbey was dissolved in 1536, along with hundreds of other houses whose annual income was less than £200. By this time, there were only eight monks and the abbot. The majority of the abbey's possessions were leased to John Bradshaw of
Presteigne
Presteigne (; : the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community (Wales), community on the south bank of the River Lugg in Powys, Wales. The town is located on the England–Wales border, which surrounds it to the north, east and south. Nearby ...
in
Radnorshire
Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...
. He built a mansion, probably within the abbey precinct. Large parts of the abbey complex were destroyed or altered by Bradshaw who completed his mansion in 1543. He and his descendants lived on the site for over a century. After Bradshaw's death the estate shifted between a multitude of heirs and resales, until 1934 when
Representative Body of the Church in Wales
The Representative Body of the Church in Wales is a registered charity, regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, responsible for holding property and assets on behalf of the Church in Wales. It was set up in 1917 to oversee th ...
placed the estate into the care of the
Commission of Works. In 1947 excavation and consolidation began.
Since then, multiple Shakespeare in the Abbey''
' productions have been staged. Also a visitor centre was created in the former Coach House, which opened in June 2008. These events and additions have led to an increase in the number of visitors.
The Ruins
The earliest surviving remains date from the first half of the twelfth century. It seems that parts of the church were built to satisfy the immediate requirements of the monastery, but that the western part, for the use of the laity, was not finished. The nave was completed in the thirteenth century, although without the intended aisles. Unusually the church lacks a west doorway, possibly because the slope of the ground becomes steeper. The square-ended sanctuary was built over a vaulted crypt, possibly a repository for relics of St Dogmael. About the middle of the thirteenth century, the
cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
was enlarged northwards; the cloister arcades were rebuilt in stone about the same time. The domestic quarters were extensively rebuilt at the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century. A new infirmary was built, followed by a
chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
. In the fourteenth or fifteenth century, much of the west range was altered to provide improved accommodation for the abbot. A new wing was added for the abbot's guests. The last alteration to the church was the rebuilding of the north transept, with its elaborate fan vaulted roof. This happened in the early sixteenth century, not long before the suppression of the monastery. The lavish design indicates it may have been an individually distinct chapel, possibly built as a memorial to the founder's family, the lords of Cemais.
Substantial parts of the church survive, including the western end wall, the north wall and northern transept.
The crypt, beneath the former eastern two bays of the presbytery, is preserved to the springing of the vault.
Fifteenth century floor tiles remain in large areas of the nave. The abbey is
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
Fragments of carved stonework have been collected in the infirmary, and several of the incised stones which were formerly in the parish church have been gathered against the south wall.
References
External links
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of St Dogmaels Abbey and surrounding area:The heritage and history of the abbey and the village.CADW – St Dogmaels Abbey and Coach House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Dogmaels Abbey
1110s establishments in Europe
Christian monasteries in Wales
Tironensian monasteries
Christian monasteries established in the 1110s
12th-century establishments in Wales
Grade I listed buildings in Pembrokeshire