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Overview
The venerable ruin of Abbey de Valle Crucis—in other words, Abbey of the Vale of the Cross, or, as the Welsh call it, Mynachlog y Glynn, Mynachlog Glynn Egwestl, Mynachlog Llan Egwestl, Mynachlog Glyn Eliseg, and Mynachlog Pant y Groes—is situated in a lovely and sequestered valley, about two miles from Llangollen, on the right of the road towards Ruthin, and is approached by most delightful routes.
We go over the Dee Bridge and follow the road to the left, or we may take a walk for about a mile along the canal side (reached by the footpath leading through the wicket nearly opposite the Railway Station), passing over the third bridge, before reaching Pentrefelin Slate Wharf, into the road again. About a quarter of a mile further on there is a gate leading to a field on the right, through which a path wends right to the grand old Abbey. Those more inclined to drive the distance can have their demands satisfied at reasonable charges at the cab-stand and the hotels; while to those who would prefer gliding along the smooth water of the canal as far as Pentrefelin Wharf, ample opportunity is afforded by pleasure boats, which run at intervals daily in that direction. Or the place may be reached by travelling per rail to Berwyn Station, then crossing the Dee by the Chainbridge, whence the distance to the Abbey is only half a mile.
The sequestered spot on which was built the Abbey in the year 1,200, by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, Lord p. 3of Dinas Bràn, and from which it takes its name, was known as Pant-y-Groes, or the Glen of the Cross, long prior to that time. It was so called from a very ancient inscribed pillar or cross, the mutilated remains of which stand in an adjacent field.
The Abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and belonged to a community of Cistercian monks, an order founded in France in the year 1098. The remains of the Abbey Church are the most entire and picturesque part; but adjoining the southern side are the remains of the Abbot’s lodgings, consisting of the chapter house and dormitories above.
The church was built in the form of a cross, which was contrary to the form in common use prior to the twelfth century, and it is hence inferred that Madog availed himself of the aid of the Free Masons, as they were incorporated about this time, and were the chief undertakers of such works. Sir Christopher Wren, in his Parentalia, describes their government as regular, and they were wont to make an encampment in huts. A surveyor governed in chief; every tenth man being called a warden and overlooking nine. They ranged from country to country as they found churches to be built, and are supposed to have first introduced the cruciform style for religious edifices.
The eastern end of the church appears the most ancient, and the three lancet-like windows have a very peculiar effect. The northern side has been almost destroyed, and there is no vestige of the roof except in the eastern side of the southern transept. The choir was without aisles, but each transept had one on the east side, which seem to have been used as chapels.
The west front of the church affords some admirable specimens of ancient Gothic architecture. The chief entrance was through the ornamental pointed-arch gateway at the west end, over which is a fine window, consisting of three lancet-shaped arches, surmounted by a circular or rose window of eight divisions. Above p. 4this window are the remains of a mutilated inscription, of which the following is probably a correct translation:—
“The Abbot Adam did this work. May he rest in happy peace. Amen.”
High up in the southern wall is to be seen a small loop-hole, communicating with a passage which leads over the vaulting of the southern transept aisle to the abbatial building adjoining the church. This passage is now blocked up, but it is conjectured to have served either as a closet wherein the Abbot could attend service privately, or else as a place of confinement or penitence for the monks. The architecture of this portion of the church corresponds in its style with the date of its erection, the commencement of the thirteenth century; the lancets, with their mouldings, are strictly of that date, and the capitals of the shafts, which are worked with great boldness, are of the late Norman period, rather than of that which is called early-pointed.
The side windows are each of two lights, the principal arch-head being solid, but pierced with a single aperture divided into six foliations. Above these three windows run a kind of framework, similar in some respects to that at the eastern end of the choir. On the external face of the western end are two bold buttresses of a single stage, that on the south-eastern side being pierced for loop-holes for a circular staircase formed in the thickness of the walls and itself.
We go over the Dee Bridge and follow the road to the left, or we may take a walk for about a mile along the canal side (reached by the footpath leading through the wicket nearly opposite the Railway Station), passing over the third bridge, before reaching Pentrefelin Slate Wharf, into the road again. About a quarter of a mile further on there is a gate leading to a field on the right, through which a path wends right to the grand old Abbey. Those more inclined to drive the distance can have their demands satisfied at reasonable charges at the cab-stand and the hotels; while to those who would prefer gliding along the smooth water of the canal as far as Pentrefelin Wharf, ample opportunity is afforded by pleasure boats, which run at intervals daily in that direction. Or the place may be reached by travelling per rail to Berwyn Station, then crossing the Dee by the Chainbridge, whence the distance to the Abbey is only half a mile.
The sequestered spot on which was built the Abbey in the year 1,200, by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, Lord p. 3of Dinas Bràn, and from which it takes its name, was known as Pant-y-Groes, or the Glen of the Cross, long prior to that time. It was so called from a very ancient inscribed pillar or cross, the mutilated remains of which stand in an adjacent field.
The Abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and belonged to a community of Cistercian monks, an order founded in France in the year 1098. The remains of the Abbey Church are the most entire and picturesque part; but adjoining the southern side are the remains of the Abbot’s lodgings, consisting of the chapter house and dormitories above.
The church was built in the form of a cross, which was contrary to the form in common use prior to the twelfth century, and it is hence inferred that Madog availed himself of the aid of the Free Masons, as they were incorporated about this time, and were the chief undertakers of such works. Sir Christopher Wren, in his Parentalia, describes their government as regular, and they were wont to make an encampment in huts. A surveyor governed in chief; every tenth man being called a warden and overlooking nine. They ranged from country to country as they found churches to be built, and are supposed to have first introduced the cruciform style for religious edifices.
The eastern end of the church appears the most ancient, and the three lancet-like windows have a very peculiar effect. The northern side has been almost destroyed, and there is no vestige of the roof except in the eastern side of the southern transept. The choir was without aisles, but each transept had one on the east side, which seem to have been used as chapels.
The west front of the church affords some admirable specimens of ancient Gothic architecture. The chief entrance was through the ornamental pointed-arch gateway at the west end, over which is a fine window, consisting of three lancet-shaped arches, surmounted by a circular or rose window of eight divisions. Above p. 4this window are the remains of a mutilated inscription, of which the following is probably a correct translation:—
“The Abbot Adam did this work. May he rest in happy peace. Amen.”
High up in the southern wall is to be seen a small loop-hole, communicating with a passage which leads over the vaulting of the southern transept aisle to the abbatial building adjoining the church. This passage is now blocked up, but it is conjectured to have served either as a closet wherein the Abbot could attend service privately, or else as a place of confinement or penitence for the monks. The architecture of this portion of the church corresponds in its style with the date of its erection, the commencement of the thirteenth century; the lancets, with their mouldings, are strictly of that date, and the capitals of the shafts, which are worked with great boldness, are of the late Norman period, rather than of that which is called early-pointed.
The side windows are each of two lights, the principal arch-head being solid, but pierced with a single aperture divided into six foliations. Above these three windows run a kind of framework, similar in some respects to that at the eastern end of the choir. On the external face of the western end are two bold buttresses of a single stage, that on the south-eastern side being pierced for loop-holes for a circular staircase formed in the thickness of the walls and itself.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940148249832 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Lost Leaf Publications |
| Publication date: | 02/11/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 190 KB |
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