Llanthony Priory | |
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Location | Llanthony, Monmouthshire, Wales |
Coordinates | 51°56′40″N 3°02′16″W / 51.94444°N 3.03778°WCoordinates: 51°56′40″N 3°02′16″W / 51.94444°N 3.03778°W |
Governing body | Cadw |
Llanthony Priory (Welsh: Priordy Llanddewi Nant Hodni) is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep sided once glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny on an old road to Hay-on-Wye at Llanthony. The priory ruins lie to the west of the prominent Hatterall Ridge, a limb of the Black mountains. The main ruins are under the care of Cadw and entrance is free.
The priory is a Grade I listed building as of 1 September 1956. Within the precincts of the Priory are three other buildings with Grade I listed status: the Abbey Hotel, listed on 1 September 1956;St David's Church, listed on the same date, and Court Farm Barn, listed on 9 January in the same year.
The priory dates back to around the year 1100, when Norman nobleman Walter de Lacy reputedly came upon a ruined chapel of St. David in this location, and was inspired to devote himself to solitary prayer and study. He was joined by Ersinius, a former Chaplain to Queen Matilda, the wife of King Henry I, and then a band of followers. A church was built on the site, dedicated to St John the Baptist, and consecrated in 1108. By 1118, a group of around 40 monks from England founded there a priory of Canons Regular, the first in Wales.