Llanthony Priory – A Wonder of Wales
Llanthony Priory dates back to the year 1100, having been founded by Norman Nobleman Walter De Lacey who had discovered a ruin chapel at the site. His plan for secluded prayer could not have found a better site, with the Priory located in the sparsely populated Ewyas Valley. The glacial scar in the earth is found in the beautiful Black Mountains seven miles north of Abergavenny.
The peace and quiet Walter wished for was not a constant. Long before the Dissolution of the Monasteries the priory was under frequent attack from the Welsh locals. By 1135 the monks had retreated to their daughter cell in Gloucester, yet this was not to be the final chapter. Another member of the De Lacy family endowed a fortune made from the Family’s Irish Estate into the Priory allowing once more the monks to devote their lives to pray in this most beautiful spot.
The reprieve for the Priory was to be simply that, a reprieve. King Henry the VIII had his own ideas on the direction of religion within his realm. An idea that suited him, yet caused great upheaval for the wider population. Walter De Lacy’s initial purpose for the site ended in 1538, never to be raised back to the glories of the past.
Today the site is free to visit and it allows a wonderful eye into the past. The peaceful scenery allows you to step back for a moment, listen to the silence & imagine what this awe inspiring site was once like. This site could well be used as a staging post for the near by Offa’s Dyke Path as one of the later buildings has been converted into the beautiful Llanthony Priory Hotel.
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