St Dogmaels was founded as a priory by Robert fitz Martin, lord of Camain / Cemais. Shortly thereafter it was elevated to the status of an abbey.
The house was seemingly founded on the site of a pre-Conquest church, Llandodog (Llandudoch).show details of standing remains
Standing remains
Extensive remains of the abbey church and claustral buildings survive and are in the care of Cadw. The church adjacent to the ruins is of a later date and was built in the Victorian era. Read more
Dedicated to: Virgin Mary Medieval Diocese: St David's Affiliated to: Tiron, Normandy (mother-house); Caldey (daughter-house); Pill (daughter-house); Glascarreg, Wexford, Ireland (daughter-house) Lordship at foundation: Camaes Access: Public Owned by: Cadw
Main events in the history of this site
c.1113: Foundation - St Dogmaels was founded as a priory c. 1113 when Robert fitz Martin, lord of Cemais (W. Wales), granted the ancient church of St Dogmael to the Norman abbey of Tiron, to establish a monastery for a prior and twelve monks. [2 sources] 1118: Status - Permission was granted to raise the priory to the status of an abbey. [2 sources] 1120: Change in status - St Dogmaels was elevated from a priory to an abbey. [1 source] 1138: Plundered - The abbey was looted by mercenaries. [2 sources] 1150 -1157: Building work - Extensive building work was undertaken. [1 source] 1188: Hospitality - Gerald of Wales and Archbishop Baldwin stayed at the abbey during their preaching tour of Wales. [1 source] 1246: Royal gift - Henry III granted the community twenty marks 'for the fabric of the church'. [1 source] c.1291: Wealth - According to the Taxatio the abbey was valued at £58 11s 4d. [2 sources] 1296: Royal petition - The abbot and convent requested permission to receive rents in Cardigan. [2 sources][1 archive] 1318: Clerical taxation - The abbot and convent complained of excessive taxation. [2 sources][1 archive] 1320: Royal petition - The abbot and convent requested the king to confirm to them the church of Maenclochog. [1 source][1 archive] c.1349: Numbers - Numbers fell as a consequence of the Black Death. [1 source] 1402: Visitation - The bishop of St David's conducted a visitation of the house. [1 source] 1504: Visitation - The abbey was visited on 16 July. [2 sources] 1534: Numbers - In 1534 the community comprised an abbot (William Here) and eight monks who subscribed to the Act of Supremacy. [3 sources][1 archive] c.1535: Wealth - According to the Valor Ecclesiasticus the monastery had a net income of £87 8s 6d.
[2 sources] 1537: Dissolution - The house was dissolved on 24 February 1537 under the 1536 Act of Suppression. [5 sources] + 14 minor events.Show minor events
Lloyd-Morgan, Ceridwen, 'Manuscripts and the monasteries', in Monastic Wales: New Approaches, ed. Janet Burton and Karen Stöber (University of Wales: Cardiff, 2013), pp. 209-227
Stöber, Karen, 'Social networks of late medieval Welsh monasteries', in Monasteries and Society in the Later Middle Ages, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion, 35, ed. Janet Burton and Karen Stöber (Boydell and Brewer: Woodbridge, 2008), pp. 12-24