Monastic Wales.








Event detail for site: Strata Marcella

1328-1330: Welsh community replaced

English monks from Buildwas replaced the native Welsh community.

Lord John de Cherleton of Powys (d. 1353) sought to replace the Welsh community with English monks in the hope that this would reform monastic observance at the house. He made a formal complaint about the abbey to Edward III c. 1328, and maintained that numbers had fallen from sixty to only eight. The king responded by writing to the abbot of Clairvaux to request that custody of the house and visitation rights be transferred from the Welsh house of Whitland to the English abbey of Buildwas. The Welsh community at Strata Marcella was duly dispersed and replaced by English monks.

Bibliographical sources

Printed sources

Calendar of the Close Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office (HMSO: London, 1896-) 1327-1330 (410, 556-557); 1330-1333 (150)

The Cistercian Abbeys of Britain: far from the concourse of men, ed. David M. Robinson (London, 1998) pp. 179-180.

Robinson, David M., The Cistercians in Wales: Architecture and Archaeology 1130-1540, Society of Antiquaries of London, Research Committee Report (London, 2006) p. 274

Other events in the history of this site

1170: Foundation - The community originally settled on lands on the west bank of the River Severn but relocated to the present site several years later.  [2 sources]
1170x1190: Founds daughter-house - Strata Marcella founded Llanllugan nunnery; at least the nunnery was under the auspices of the Cistercian abbey.  [1 sources]
1197: Burial - Owain Cyfeiliog, prince of S. Powys and founder of the abbey, died and was buried at the house. [2 sources]
c.1201: Founds daughter-house - Strata Marcella founded Valle Crucis in Denbighshire as a daughter-house. [1 archives]
1282-1283: Destruction - The abbey sustained extensive damages during the Edwardian wars. [1 sources]
1284: Compensation - The community was granted £43 compensation for damages caused during the Edwardian wars.  [1 sources]
1328-1330: Welsh community replaced - English monks from Buildwas replaced the native Welsh community. [3 sources]
1369: Bequest - Lewis Charlton, bishop of Hereford, bequeathed 20 marks to the abbey to help finance the fabric of the church. [1 sources]
1420: Confirmation - Edward Charlton confirmed the abbey's rights and holdings and added new privileges. [1 sources][1 archives]
1440: Burial - Llywelyn ab y Moel was seemingly buried at Strata Florida. [1 sources]
1530: Decline - By the 1530s Strata Marcella was in a ruinous state and had accumulated considerable debt.  [1 sources]
c.1535: Wealth - At this time the abbey was recorded as having an income of £64. [2 sources]
1536: Dissolution - Prior to it dissolution in spring 1536 Strata Marcella was in a ruinous state.  [2 sources]
 
Graphic.