Basingwerk Abbey

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Basingwerk Abbey is the ruin of an abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales, in the care of Cadw (Welsh Heritage).

It was founded in 1132 by the Earls of Chester, and monks from Savigny settled there. In 1147 the abbey became part of the Cistercian Order and therefore a daughter house of Buildwas Abbey in Shropshire. In 1157 the abbey was given the manor of Glossop by King Henry II. The hilltop Monks' Road in Glossop is a reminder of the monks' efforts to administer their possession. Earlier on they had received the manor of West Kirby from the Earls of Chester. In the 13th century, the abbey was under the patronage of Llywelyn the Great, and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn gave St. Winifred's Well to the abbey. The monks harnessed the power of the Holywell stream to run a corn mill and to treat the wool from their sheep. In 1536 abbey life came to an end with the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

But that isn't the end of the story. For two centuries earlier a Welsh seer, Robin Ddu (Robin black) said the roof on the refectory would do very nicely on a little church under Moel Famau. It did. When the abbey was sold the roof went to Cilcain church and the amazing Jesse window went to the church at Llanrhaeadr-yng-nghinmerch.

Today, the abbey ruin is part of Greenfield Valley Heritage Park.

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