Margam Abbey

Coordinates: 51°33′22″N 3°43′45″W / 51.5561°N 3.7292°W / 51.5561; -3.7292
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Margam Abbey
St Mary's Abbey Church, Margam
Abaty Margam
Style
Romanesque
Administration
ProvinceWales
DioceseLlandaff
ArchdeaconryMargam

Margam Abbey (

Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales
.

History

Margam Abbey ruins 1805

The

Patristic literature, as he is credited with the capitula or chapter-headings prefixing each section of St. Bernard's Sermons on the Song of Songs, one of the works for which that author was titled a Doctor of the Church.[1]

The

Hubert de Burgh in the year 1232. The chief source for the earlier portion was likely William of Malmesbury's history. The text gives accounts of the purported discovery of the bones of King Arthur, and of the alleged murder of Prince Arthur by King John.[2][3]

Sir John Buchanan-Jardine (third baronet Buchanan-Jardine) recounts a tradition that Margam Abbey kept a pack of hunting hounds donated to them by a continental Abbey (which he takes to be the Abbey of Saint-Hubert).[4]

The abbey was

Henry VIII of England in 1536 and sold to Sir Rice Mansel. Significant holdings of the monastery library appear to have survived this event, including the manuscript of the annals. At this time, only 12 monks were living in the monastery. From the Mansel family the abbey eventually passed to their descendants in the female line, the Talbot family. In the 19th century, C R M Talbot constructed a mansion at Margam Castle which overlooks the abbey ruins. The nave of the abbey continued in use as the parish church, as it does to this day. It is Anglo-Catholic in its churchmanship.[5]

Today

Chapter House ruins

Margam Abbey now consists of the intact nave and surrounding ruins. Those ruins not belonging to the church are now owned by the County Council. These remains, including the twelve-sided

Grade I listed buildings.[6][7][8]

On a hill overlooking the abbey stand the ruins of an outlying monastery building, Capel Mair ar y Bryn ("the chapel of St Mary on the hill"). The purpose of this building is thought to have been to allow members of the monastic community who were engaged in the keeping of flocks to fulfil their devotional obligations without having to return to the main church.

Tree of the Year 2020

A pencil drawing showing an image of the Chapter House, with trees in the foreground.
A view of the Chapter House, with trees in the foreground.

In 2020, a beech tree located in the ruins of Margam Abbey was voted Tree of the Year in Wales.[9]

The 'Chapter House Tree' won an online vote conducted by the Welsh Woodland Trust, beating other trees such as the Monmouth Catalpa Tree and the Chirk Castle Sweet Chestnut.[9] It was awarded £1000 as a prize, and received 1118 votes.[10]

See also

Photos

Notes

  1. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Bernard of Clairvaux" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ^ Luard, Henry Richards (1864). Annales monastici. PIMS - University of Toronto. London : Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green.
  3. ^ "British Library". www.bl.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. ^ Buchanan-Jardine, J. (1937), Hounds of the World.
  5. ^ Blagdon-Gamlen, P. E., ed. (1973) The Church Travellers Directory. London: Church Literature Association; p. 86
  6. ^ "St Mary's Abbey Church, Margam". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Ruins of Chapter House and Vestibule of St Mary's Abbey, Margam". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Ruined Undercroft at St Mary's Abbey, Margam". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Wales Tree of the Year: Margam Abbey's Chapter House beech wins". BBC News. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Margam Park's historic beech is crowned Wales Tree of the Year". South Wales Guardian. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

References

  • A History of Margam Abbey, Walter de Gray Birch, Bedford Press, 1897
  • Bernard de Clairvaux, Sermons sur le Cantique Tome I (Sermons 1–15); introduction,traduction et notes par Paul VERDEYEN, s.j. et Raffaele FASSETT, o.c.s.o., 1996 (Sources Chrétiennes, no. 414), p. 55.

51°33′22″N 3°43′45″W / 51.5561°N 3.7292°W / 51.5561; -3.7292

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