Strata Florida Abbey
| Cistercian Abbey Strata Florida | |
|---|---|
 Remains of the abbey wall |
|
| location |
 United Kingdom of Wales
|
| Coordinates: | 52 ° 16 ′ 27 ″ N , 3 ° 51 ′ 0 ″ W |
| Serial number according to Janauschek |
385 |
| founding year | 1164 |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
1539 |
| Mother monastery | Whitland Abbey |
| Primary Abbey | Clairvaux Monastery |
|
Daughter monasteries |
Llantarnam Abbey (1179) |
Strata Florida Abbey (Stratflur; Welsh: Abaty Ystrad Fflur) is a former Cistercian abbey 27 km southeast of Aberystwyth at Pontrhydfendigaid in Ceredigion (formerly Cardiganshire and Dyfed ) in Wales .
history
The monastery was founded in 1164 in Old Abbey Farm on a field called Yr Hen Fynachlog as a daughter monastery of Whitland Abbey on a foundation by Robert FitzStephen on the banks of the River Fflur and thus belonged to the filiation of Clairvaux Primary Abbey . It was soon (probably 1184) moved to its current location by Lord Rhys . Although the monastery was of Norman origin, it quickly developed into a major Welsh cultural center. In 1179 the daughter monastery Llantarnam Abbey and 1186 Aberconwy Abbey were settled. In 1201 the eastern parts of the church must have been usable. In 1238 Llywelyn from Iorwerth (called "the Great") called a meeting of the Welsh princes in Strata Florida to swear in on his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn . In the 12th and 13th centuries, sheep farming brought prosperity to the monastery. Because of his support for the Welsh cause, King John ordered the destruction of the monastery in 1212, but this was averted by paying a fine of 700 marks. In 1286 the monastery caught fire from lightning and in 1295 it was again set on fire and destroyed by the royal army during a Welsh uprising . At the beginning of the 15th century the monastery was temporarily abandoned and occupied by the army. At the beginning of the 16th century the refectory and infirmary had already crumbled into ruins. The monastery was able to escape the dissolution of the monastery in 1536 by paying a cash payment, but was dissolved in 1539 and passed to the Stedman family in 1567, who had the manor house built south of the enclosure. Today the monastery is looked after by Welsh Historic Monuments.
Buildings and plant
Low walls of the presbytery, the transept and the crossing as well as the nave have been preserved from the cross-shaped church with a rectangular choir closure and three side chapels on the east sides of the transept, built between 1184 and 1225 in the Romanesque-Gothic transition style. The walls of the chapter house in the enclosure on the south side of the church and the sacristy as well as the north, east and west wings of the cloister have also been preserved. The arched western entrance with five archivolts still stands.
literature
- Anthony New: A guide to the Abbeys of England and Wales. Constable & Company, London 1985, ISBN 0-09-463520-X , pp. 364-366.
