Tintern Abbey
Tintern Abbey was founded in 1131 and the monks who lived and
worshipped there were called Cistercians. The Cistercian monks
originally came from France and Tintern Abbey was the first
monastery that they built in Wales.
The founder of the abbey was Walter of Clare, the Anglo-Norman
lord of Chepstow, who requested that monks from L’Aumone, in
the diocese of Chartres, come to Tintern. An abbot and at least
twelve monks would have made the journey to Tintern in 1131. Lay
Brothers would have also accompanied the abbot. These early
monks would have had to help clear wooded land and drain
marshy ground in preparation for cultivation, as well as put up
buildings that were probably under way before they arrived from
France.
Building and Extending
The earliest buildings at Tintern would probably have been made
out of wood. As more monks arrived and the abbey ‘community’
began to grow these were replaced with stone structures. These
were well underway by the 1160’s. The abbey was built around a
cruciform (cross) shape, with a presbytery (site of the high altar)
and transepts (areas that form the sides of the cross) to the north
and south.
The Abbey got quite a lot bigger during the thirteenth century.
Accommodation for the abbot was added so that he would not
have to sleep in the dormitory with the monks, and a two-storey
detached building was constructed – possibly to serve as lodgings
for a visiting abbot or dignitary (important person). In the later part
of the thirteenth century a new stone infirmary (hospital) was
added, as was an aisled hall which formed a cloister enclosure. A
porch was also added to the east side of the abbey. The biggest
project by far however, that took place in the late thirteenth and
early fourteenth century, was the creation of a new abbey church.
In the fourteenth century the abbot’s lodging was improved, with a
new hall being added, a private chapel, latrine (toilet) and dovecot!
The abbot’s of the fourteenth century certainly seem to have
wanted a more luxurious lifestyle….A covered walkway led from
the abbots lodging, past the infirmary to the abbey church.
The Abbey Church
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