Site details: Margam - Monastic Wales - A Comprehensive Database of Sites and Sources


Home Project team Future plans Contact us Search the database Browse list of sites Browse list of orders Browse bibliography & archives Browse people Browse articles Glossary of terms Monastic Wales is not responsible for the content of external internet sites	Display site: Margam (Abbey) also known as: Margam Order: Cistercian Margam was founded by Robert, earl of Gloucester and lord of Glamorgan, and was one of the first Cistercian abbeys in Wales. show more... In the later Middle Ages Margam was a vibrant centre of patronage for the bards. Following the Dissolution the nave was preserved and used as the parish church. Today the church is partly in parochial church use and partly in council ownership. Margam is now regarded as one of the most important houses of the Order in Wales, both from an architectural and historical standpoint. Indeed, the Margam archive is one of the most complete of any medieval abbey in Great Britain. Dedicated to: Virgin Mary Medieval Diocese: Llandaff Affiliated to: Clairvaux, France (mother-house) Lordship at foundation: Glamorgan Access: Open to the public Owned by: Representative Body of the Church in Wales; surrounding ruins owned by County Council Main events in the history of this site 1147: Foundation - Margam was founded on 23 November 1147 by Robert, earl of Gloucester and lord of Glamorgan and was one of the first Cistercian abbeys in Wales. [8 sources] pre 1166: Patronage - Earl Robert's son and heir, William of Gloucester, consolidated the abbey's holdings, granting lands that ensured its survival. [2 sources] 1170x1175: Proposed foundation of daughter-house - Plans were considered to establish a daughter-house at Pendar, in the uplands of Glamorgan. [5 sources] 1180: Brawl - In 1180 a young man was found dead in the refectory of the abbey's guesthall. [1 source] 1187: Dedication of altar - The bishop of Llandaff, William of Saltmarsh, dedicated the altar of the Holy Trinity. [2 sources] 1188: Visit - Gerald of Wales and Archbishop Baldwin stayed at the house while preaching the Crusade throughout Wales. [2 sources] c.1190: Official reprimand - The General Chapter took action against the excessive beer-drinking by the lay-brothers of Margam. [3 sources] 1203: Papal Confirmation - Abbot Gilbert acquired papal confirmation of Margam's possessions. [2 sources] 1205: Royal confirmation - King John confirmed the abbey's resources. [2 sources] 1206: Rebellion - The lay-brothers of Margam rebelled against their abbot in 1206. [3 sources] 1210: Royal Visit - King John stayed at the abbey on 27 May and 28 August, on his way to and from Ireland. [3 sources] 1228: Irish business - Abbot John of Goldcliff (1213-c. 1236) accompanied the abbot of Stanley (Stephen of Lexington) to Ireland, to correct abuses there. [5 sources] 1233: Meeting - In December, Earl Richard Marshal received the Blessed Agnellus of Pisa, the first provincial of the Franciscans in England, at Margam. [2 sources] 1236: Royal confirmation - The abbey secured royal confirmation of its possessions from Henry III. [2 sources] 1246-1247: Destruction - The abbey suffered damage to its crops and stock, to the sum of £477, and incurred £60 worth of damages to its grange at Egyl Wys. [1 source] 1268: Hospitality withheld - The Cistercian General Chapter excused the community from receiving guests for five years on account of its poverty. [1 source] 1285: Property seized - Margam's granges were seized on the orders of the abbey's patron, Gilbert de Clare. [3 sources] c.1291: Wealth - At this time Margam had an income of c. £256 and was one of the wealthiest houses in Wales. [4 sources] c.1292: Troubles with patron - The General Chapter wrote to Edward I on behalf of Margam, explaining the abbey's troubled situation with its patron, Earl Gilbert de Clare. [3 sources] 1321: Delegation - Edward II sent the abbots of Margam and Dore to Ireland to check that the Cistercian houses there were not simply recruiting from the native population. [2 sources] 1326: Royal fugitive - Edward II stayed briefly as a fugitive, 3-4 November [1 source] 1329: Restoration of lands - After a judicial hearing Margam's lands were restored. [3 sources] 1336: Decline - Clairvaux Abbey instructed Margam to draw up a valuation to assess its decline and debts. [4 sources] 1383-5: Income - In 1383 Margam's annual income allegedly fell below 400 marks sterling (£266); in 1385 the figure was under 500 marks (£366). [3 sources] 1394: Royal visit - Richard III stayed at the house 10-11 September. 1399: Royal visit - 11 May, Richard II stayed at the house. 1412: Destruction - The community suffered extensively from the Glyn Dŵr rebellion. [4 sources] c.1535: Wealth - According to the Valor Ecclesiasticus Margam had a net income of £181 7s 4d. [3 sources] 1536 : Dissolution - Margam was dissolved 23-24 August 1536 under the 1536 Act of Suppression. [7 sources] + 27 minor events. Show minor events People associated with this site Abbots of Margam Edward II , king of England (fugitive) Gerald of Wales; Giraldus Cambrensis , archdeacon of Brecon (GUEST) Gilbert de Clare, seventh earl of Gloucester and sixth earl of Hereford (patron) Gilbert, abbot of Margam (1203-1213) (abbot) Isabella, queen of England and countess of Gloucester (patron) John (Lackland) , king of England, and lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and of Aquitaine, and count of Anjou (Guest) Morgan ap Caradog , lord of Afan (patron) Richard II , king of England and lord of Ireland, and duke of Aquitaine (Guest) Richard Marshal , sixth earl of Pembroke, lord of Leinster, Longueville, and Orbec (Holds meeting) Robert , first earl of Gloucester, lord of Glamorgan (founder) William (second) earl of Gloucester (patron) Bibliographical sources 102 Printed sources show sources 'Impression from the second common seal of Margam Abbey, mid-14th century until 1536' (c. 1350xc1536) '[MARGAM Abbey]' Archaeologia Cambrensis 5th series 3 (1886) pp.330-333 'The patent rolls of Richard III: licence to William, abbot of Margam monastery, to exchange lands, etc., with Richard, abbot of Tewkesbury Monastery' Archaeologia Cambrensis : a record of the antiquities of Wales and its Marches and the journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association 4th series 13 (1882) pp.73-4 'Excursion to Margam and Neath Abbey' Gentleman's Magazine new series 11 (1861) pp.392-393 'Ex Annalibus de Margam [1084-1229]' Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptorum (Hannover (repr. New York and Stuttgart) 1885 (repr. 1964)) pp.428-430 'Llandaff Episcopal Acta 1140-1287' Publications of the South Wales Record Society 5 ed.David Crouch(Cardiff 1988) 'The Cistercian abbeys of Britain: far from the concourse of men' ed.David M. Robinson(London 1998) pp. 138-141 'Cartae et alia munimenta quae ad dominium de Glamorgancia pertinent' 6 vols ed.G. T. Clark, rev. G. L. Clark(Cardiff 1910) 'Annals of Margam 1066-1232' Annales Monastici: 1 Rolls Series 36 5 vols ed.H. R. Luard(London 1864 (repr. 1965)) 'Medieval Monasteries of Great Britain' ed.Lionel Butler and Christopher Given-Wilson(London 1979) p. 387 'Earldom of Gloucester Charters: the Charters and Scribes of the Earls and Countesses of Gloucester to A.D. 1217' ed.Patterson, Robert B.(Oxford 1973) 'Medieval Religious Houses, England and Wales' ed.R. Neville Hadcock and David Knowles(Harlow 1971) pp. 113, 122 'Monasticon Anglicanum: a History of the Abbies and other Monasteries, Hospitals, Frieries, and Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, with their Dependencies, in England and Wales' 6 in 8 vols ed.Sir William Dugdale, rev. J. Caley, H. Ellis, B. Bandinel(London 1817-1830) vol. 5, pp. 740-742 'Annales Marganenses' Historiae Anglicanae Scriptores Quinque II ed.T. Gale(Oxford 1687) pp.1-19 'Memorials of the See and Cathedral of Llandaff. Derived from the Liber Landavensis, original documents in the British Museum, H.M. Record Office, the Margam muniments, etc' ed.Walter de Gray Birch(Neath 1912) 'A descriptive catalogue of the Penrice and Margam abbey manuscripts in the possession of Miss Talbot of Margam' 6 vols ed.Walter de Gray Birch and Emily Talbot(London 1893-1905) Adams, Alun, 'The Restoration of the Margam Heraldic Stained Glass' Port Talbot Historian 4: 3 (2005) pp.47-52 Adams, Alun, 'Stained and Painted Glass at Margam' Port Talbot Historian 4: 2 (2000) pp.26-38 Adams, John, 'The Restoration of Margam Abbey Church in the Nineteenth century' Transactions of the Port Talbot Historical Society 3: 3 (1985) pp.60-67 Adams, John, 'Masons and Their Marks at Margam Abbey' Transactions of the Port Talbot Historical Society 3: 2 (1981) pp.87-91 Beasley, Mark, and Moore, Peter, 'Margam: Eglwys Nunnydd Farm (Centered SS 8033 8480)' Archaeology in Wales 40 (2000) pp.122 Beasley, Mark, and Moore, Peter, 'Eglwys Nunnydd Farm, Neath Port Talbot (SS 8033 8480)' Morgannwg 44 (2000) pp.140-141 Birch, Walter de Gray, 'A History of Margam Abbey: with a New Introduction by Susan Beckley, David Walker, and John Vivian Hughes' (Swansea 1997) Birch, Walter de Gray,, 'A history of Margam Abbey : derived from the original documents in the British Museum, H.M. Record Office, the Margam muniments' (London 1897) Breeze, Andrew, 'Notes and Queries: Meilyr of Pendar: Glamorgan’s Earliest Poet?' Morgannwg 51 (2007) pp.169-178 Burton, Janet, 'The foundation of the British Cistercian houses' Cistercian art and architecture in the British Isles ed.Christopher Norton and David Park(Cambridge 1986) pp.24-39 Butler, L. A. S., 'Medieval ecclesiastical architecture in Glamorhgghan and Gower' Glamorgan County History III: The Middle Ages ed.T. B. Pugh(Cardiff 1971) pp.379-415 Clark, G. T., 'Contributions Towards a Cartulary of Margam' Archaeologia Cambrensis 3rd series 14 (1868) pp.24-59, 182-196, 345-385 Clark, G. T., 'Contributions Towards a Cartulary of Margam' Archaeologia Cambrensis 3rd series 13 (1867) pp.311-334 Colker, Marvin L., 'The "Margam chronicle" in a Dublin manuscript' Haskins Society Journal 4 (1993) pp.123-148 Cooper, R., 'Abbeys and Priories of Wales' (Swansea 1992) pp. 65-67 Cowley, F. G., 'Gerald of Wales and Margam Abbey' (Margam 1992 (2nd edn)) Cowley, F. G., 'The besanding of Theodoric's Grange, Margam: some new evidence' Archaeologia Cambrensis 112 (1963) pp.188-190 Cowley, F. G., 'Margam Abbey, 1147-1349' Morgannwg 42 (1998) pp.8-22 Cowley, F. G., 'The Cistercian economy in Glamorgan, 1130-1349' Morgannwg 11 (1967) pp.5-26 Cowley, F. G., 'A Note on the Extant List of Books in Margam Abbey’s Theological Library' Morgannwg 50 (2006) pp.242-247 David, H. E., 'Margam Abbey, Glamorgan' Archaeologia Cambrensis 7th series 84 (1929) pp.317-324 Evans, A. Leslie, 'Margam Abbey' (Port Talbot 1996 (1st edn 1958)) Evans, Edith, 'Margam: Eglwys Nunnydd' Archaeology in Wales 41 (2001) pp.151 Evans, Edith, Martin Locock, and Richard Roberts, 'Eglwys Nunnydd, Margam, Neath Port Talbot (SS 803 842)' Morgannwg 45 (2001) pp.88-89 Gaimster, Märit, and Bradley, John, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland, 2001: Margam Abbey (SS 803 863)' Medieval Archaeology 46 (2002) pp.261-262 Gaimster, Märit, and O’Conor, Kieran, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 2004 : Cardiff, Grange Farm, Grangetown (ST 175 748)' Medieval Archaeology 49 (2005) pp.466 Gamwell, S. C., 'Margam Abbey' Archaeologia Cambrensis 5th series 4 (1887) pp.1-13 Gray, T., 'Notes on the granges of Margam Abbey' Journal of the British Archaeological Association 9 (1903) pp.161-181 Gray, T., 'Notes on the Granges of Margam Abbey. Pt. II' Journal of the British Archaeological Association new series 11 (1905) pp.11-29 Gray, T., 'Notes on the Granges of Margam Abbey. Pt. III' Journal of the British Archaeological Association new series 11 (1905) pp.85-109 Gray, Thomas, 'The Hermitage of Theodoric and the Site of Pendar' Archaeologia Cambrensis 6th series 3 (1903) pp.121-153 Greenway, W., 'The Annals of Margam' Transactions of the Port Talbot Historical Society 1: 1 (1963) pp.19-31 Griffiths, Matthew, 'Native society on the Anglo-Norman frontier: the evidence of the Margam charters' Welsh History Review 14 (1988) pp.179-216 Higgens, Leonard S., 'Investigation into the Problem of the Sand Dunes Area of South Wales' Archaeologia Cambrensis 88 (1933) pp.26-67 Huws, Daniel, 'The Old-Welsh englynof the Margam charter : a Lhuydian joke' Journal of Celtic Studies 4 (2004) pp.213-18 Jenkins, James, 'King John and the Cistercians' Monastic Research Bulletin 17 (2011) p. 17 Jones, Anthony L., 'Heraldry in the Churches, Castles and Manor Houses of Glamorgan: Mid and West Glamorgan no. 1: The Abbey Church of St. Mary, Margam and Margam Castle' (Cowbridge 1993) Jones, D. R. L., 'Margam in the Post Dissolution Era - a Miscellany' Transactions of the Port Talbot Historical Society 3: 2 (1981) pp.5-14 Jones, Dilwyn, 'Excavations at Margam Abbey, 1974-75' Archaeologia Cambrensis 130 (1981) pp.59-69 Jones, Donald H., 'Margam Abbey' Neath Antiquarian Society Transactions 2nd series 2 (1931-32) pp.36-40 Jones, Thomas, 'Annales Marganenses' Archaeologia Cambrensis 3 (1848) pp.262-266 Keates, John, 'Margam Abbey: a Powerful Chain of History' Cambria 5: 2 (2002) pp.28-33 Kerr, Julie, 'Cistercian hospitality in the later Middle Ages' Monasteries and Society in the British Isles in the Later Middle Ages Studies in the History of Medieval Religion 35 vols ed.Janet Burton and Karen Stöber(Woodbridge 2008) pp.25-39 Kerr, Julie E., 'Life in the Medieval Cloister' (London and New York 2009) p. 19 Kerr, Julie E., 'Health and safety in the medieval monasteries of Britain' History 93 (2008) pp.3-19 Knowles, David and St. Jospeh, John Kenneth Sinclair, 'Monastic Sites from the Air' (Cambridge 1952) pp. 120-1 Lewis, J. M., 'The Medieval Tiles of Wales' (Cardiff 1999) p. 239 Locock, Martin, 'Margam Abbey (SS 803 863)' Archaeology in Wales 41 (2001) pp.150-151 Locok, Martin, 'Margam Abbey, Neath Port Talbot. (SS 803 863)' Morgannwg 45 (2001) pp.89 Moore, P., and Moore, D., 'Two topographical paintings of the old house at Margam, Glamorgan' Archaeologia Cambrensis 123 pp.155-69 Morgan-Guy, John, 'The Margam Concordantiae: mystical theology and a twelfth-century Cistercian community in Wales' Morgannwg 49 (2005) pp.9-33 Nash-Williams, V. E., 'A Medieval Site at Margam, Glamorganshire' Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 13.3 (1949) pp.166-167 New, Elizabeth A., 'Seals and Sealing Practices' British Records Association Archives & the User 11 (London 2009) Newman, John, 'The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan' (London 1995) pp. 424-9 O'Sullivan, J. F., 'Cistercian settlements in Wales and Monmouthshire, 1140-1540' Fordham Univ. Studies, History ser. 2 (New York 1947) pp. 28-30 Patterson, Robert B., 'The Scriptorium of Margam abbey and the Scribes of early Angevin Glamorgan: secretarial administration in a Welsh marcher barony, c.1150-c.1225' (Woodbridge 2002) Patterson, Robert B., 'The author of the "Margam annals": early thirteenth-century Margam abbey's compleat scribe' Anglo-Norman Studies 14 (1991) pp.197-210 Pierce, Gwynedd O., 'Capel Y Fanhalog' Morgannwg 45 (2001) pp.69-79 Platt, Colin, 'The Abbeys and Priories of Medieval England' (Avon 1984) pp. 42, 61 Ponsford, Mike, 'Pyle, Coed Hirwaun (SS 820 830)' Archaeology in Wales 39 (1999) pp.124 Powell, J., 'The re-discovery of the grange of Theodoric' Transactions of the Port Talbot Historical Society 1: 1 (1963) pp.7-18 Pritchard, John, 'Margam Abbey' Reports and Transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists Society 8 (1881) pp.50-53 RCAHMW, 'Glamorgan 4 pt 1: the Greater Houses' (Cardiff 1981) pp. 323-331 Robinson, A. E., 'The Story of Margam Abbey' (Gloucester 1939 (4th edn)) Robinson, David M., 'The Cistercians in Wales: Architecture and Archaeology 1130-1540' Society of Antiquaries of London, Research Committee Report (London 2006) pp. 253-261 Robinson, David M., 'Cathedrals, Monasteries and Churches: Margam Abbey' The Cardiff Area: Proceedings of the 139th Summer Meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute, London, 1993 ed.N. J. G. Pounds(Leeds 1993) pp.54-60 Robinson, David M. and Harrison, Stuart, 'Cistercian Cloisters in England and Wales: Part I' Journal of the British Archaeological Association 159 (2006) pp.131-207 Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales, 'Monastic granges' In An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan, vol. III: Medieval Secular Monuments, Part II: Non-Defensive (Cardiff 1982) pp.245-306 Smallwood, T. M., 'The date of the Gough Map' Imago Mundi 62 (2010) pp.3–29 Smith, E. George, 'Abbey of Neath vs. the Abbey of Margam' Neath Antiquarian Society Transactions second series 3 (1932-33) pp.87-89 Stöber, Karen, 'Social networks of late medieval Welsh monasteries' Monasteries and Society in the Later Middle Ages Studies in the History of Medieval Religion 35 ed.Janet Burton and Karen Stöber (Woodbridge 2008) pp.12-24 Tavener, Nick., 'MARGAM: Margam Abbey Church Hall (SS 8008 8635)' Archaeology in Wales 38 (1998) pp.139 Thurlby, Malcolm, 'Romanesque Architecture and Sculpture in Wales' (Little Logaston 2006) pp. 118-126 Toft, L. A., 'A Study of Coastal Village Abandonment in the Swansea Bay Region, 1270-1540' Morgannwg 32 (1988) pp.21-37 Toft, L. A., 'A Medieval 'Grange' at Margam' Transactions of the Port Talbot Historical Society 4: 1 (1990) pp.31-40 Williams, David, 'The Welsh Cistercians' (Leominster 2001) Williams, David, 'The Cistercians in the Early Middle Ages' (Leominster 1998) Williams, David H., 'Atlas of Cistercian Lands in Wales' (Cardiff 1990) pp. 48-52 Williams, David H., 'Welsh History through Seals' (Cardiff 1982) p. 30 Williams, David H., 'Catalogue of Welsh ecclesiastical seals as known down to AD 1600, 4: Seals of Cistercian monasteries' Archaeologia Cambrensis 136 (1988) pp.138-155 Williams, David H., 'The Welsh Cistercians and Ireland' Cistercian Studies 15 (1980) pp.17-23 Williams, G., 'The church in Glamorgan from the 14th c to the Reformation' Glamorgan County History III: The Middle Ages ed.T. B. Pugh(Cardiff 1971) Williams, G. J., 'The Welsh Bards and the Abbey of Margam' Transactions of the Port Talbot Historical Society 1: 2 (1965) pp.69-81 Williams, Glanmor, 'Margam Abbey, the later years and the Dissolution' Morgannwg 42 (1998) pp.23-35 Williams, Glanmor, 'Rice Mansell of Oxwich and Margam' Morgannwg 6 (1962) pp.33-57 Williams, Glanmor, 'The Dissolution of the monasteries in Glamorgan' Welsh History Review 3 (1966) pp.23-43 7 On-line sources show online sources (all open in new window) Margam Abbey website (View website) Dugdale, Monasticon online - Margam (View website) The Cistercians in Yorkshire Project - Margam (View website) Aerial photograph of Margam Abbey (View website) Grotesque figure, a male gargoyle or waterspout, from Margam Abbey (View website) Margam Abbey (Coflein website) (View website) Pryce, H., Uses of the vernacular in the acts of Welsh rulers, 1120–1283 (View website) Archival sources British Library, 'Agreement between the abbeys of Margam and Llantarnam', (Document), (View website) National Library of Wales, 'Margam Chronicle; manuscript of Gerald’s Journey through Wales', (Document), (View website) National Library of Wales, 'Penrice and Margam Estate Records', (Collection), (View website) British Library, 'Seal of abbot and convent of Margam attached', (Document), (View website) Related articles on Monastic Wales The Cistercians in Wales, Prof. J.E.Burton, Department of Archaeology, History and Anthropology, University of Wales Lampeter Images of this site Chapterhouse, Margam Abbey Monknash Grange Buildings Remains of Monknash Grange West front of the abbey church of St Mary, Margam West front of the abbey church of St Mary, Margam	Chapterhouse, Margam Abbey Neath Port Talbot, OS Grid:SS80188628 View site details on COFLEIN (RCAHMW database)[new window]

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