Llantarnam Abbey

Llantarnam Abbey gatehouse

Llantarnam Abbey is an abbey of the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy and a former Cistercian monastery located in Llantarnam, Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen in southeast Wales.

History

It was founded as a daughter house of Strata Florida Abbey, Ceredigion, in 1179. After its dissolution in 1558, it was used as a private residence, being initially acquired and rebuilt by a local landowner. William Morgan of Llantarnam (Lanternam in some old documents) bought the abbey in 1561 and the family became great landowners in Monmouthshire around this time.

The Morgans and the Earls of Worcester at Raglan became leaders of the Monmouthshire Catholics. Thomas, the subject of this note, is thought to have been a member of the Llantarnam or the nearby Bassaleg branch of the Morgans of Tredegar Park. It was acquired by Reginald James Blewitt and rebuilt in Elizabethan style to the designs of Thomas Henry Wyatt in 1834-5.

In 1895, the Abbey was bought by Sir Clifford Cory, colliery owner, shipping magnate and Liberal politician, who lived there until his death in 1941.[1] Without heirs, his barony became extinct.[1] In 1946 it became again a monastic institution, in the hands of the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy.[1]

The main abbey building became Grade II* listed in 1962.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in Britain: A History, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 12
  2. ↑ Llantarnam Abbey, Llantarnam, britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.

External links

Coordinates: 51°37′51″N 2°59′45″W / 51.6308°N 2.99585°W