 Talley Abbey
Colonised with a small group of canons from the house of St John at Amiens in
north-east France, Talley Abbey was the only Premonstratensian abbey to be
established in Wales. Founded by Lord Rhys c1185, Talley Abbey takes
its name from its location at the head of two lakes, and is situated
in the remote lowlands of Carmarthenshire.
Difficult and troubled times
were soon experienced by the alienated French canons, beginning with
their plans to construct a grand church at the heart of their new abbey.
Insufficient funds from the Rhys endowment, coupled with costly quarrels
between them and neighbouring Cistercian foundations who threatened
to convert Talley to a house of their own order, resulted in further depleted
funds to complete the abbey when they were allowed to return in the 13th century.
Abandoning the original
plan of an eight bay nave, the abbey church was reduced to just four bays,
there was no north nave aisle, and lower grade building materials were
used to complete the buildings. Already impoverished, Talley Abbey became
one of the first victims of Edward I's Welsh conquests, and this was
the start of a prolonged battle between the English and the Welsh over
the paternal rights of the abbey. Plagued with the turmoil of war, bringing
insecurity and financial difficulties, it is doubtful whether all the
monastic buildings were ever completed. Somehow struggling to survive
through to the 16th century, the monastery was dissolved
by Henry VIII in 1536 and most of the buildings were destroyed, but
the abbey church was saved for use by the parish until 1772.
By the middle of the 19th
century the whole site had collapsed into decay and became buried under
later constructions. Fortunately, a Victorian engineer with a great enthusiasm
for monastic archaeology, initiated an excavation programme at Talley Abbey,
and more extensive excavations were undertaken during the 1930s which
revealed the ground plan of the abbey. Today, rising out of the pastoral
landscape, Talley Abbey is immortalised by one surviving feature of the simple
church. The imposing remains of the central crossing tower still rise
to a height of some 85ft (25.7m), completely dominating the site and the surrounding
area. Other than this solid, grey structure, there is little left to see.
A few low walls, the rubbled stone bases of the rectangular piers, and
evidence of where the altars were positioned.
For atmosphere and scenic
quality, Talley Abbey fairly represents a case of 'less is more'. On the
one hand, the magnificent range of hills provides a perfectly romantic
backdrop to the ruinous, slate grey monument. But on the other hand, it
is quite a humbling experience to stand among the sadly sparse remains,
devoid of any kind of decorative feature, and imagine what an uncertain
lifestyle the early monks endured to follow their faith. |
