Inside Llanthony Priory

When, between 1536 and 1541, Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries, their properties and lands were sold with the funds raised becoming the crown's. Buildings were deliberately pulled down and damaged so that they could not be used for their old purposes. A few remained undamaged, particularly those that were given cathedral status. Some were allowed to keep a portion of the building so that it could be used as a parish church. In practical terms many of the monasteries became quarries with people using the stone to build or extend their own properties.

Llanthony Priory changed owners down the centuries with some of the building being adapted as accomodation. Today that portion is a small hotel and, unusually, the building as a whole remains in private ownership. Both photographs include a glimpse of a part that is currently still in use.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Llanthony Priory

In the narrow Vale of Ewyas, a fold in the Black Mountains, stands the ruins of Llanthony Priory. Its fairly remote location suggests to the casual observer that this is one of the many Cistercian foundations that can be seen across the British Isles. However, Llanthony was founded by two Augustinians around 1120 and was not completed until over a century later. It exhibits the style of architecture current when the Romanesque Norman was superseded by Gothic Early English. The delay in its construction was largely due to the depredations of the native Welsh following the demise of England's Henry I. During this period the monks fled to safer pastures across the River Severn where they built a cell, Llanthony Secunda, the remains of which can still be seen in Gloucester.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2