Either because of its pure air which comes across the sea from Ireland or through some miracle occasioned by the merits of the holy men who live there the island has this peculiarity that no one dies there except in extreme old age, for disease is almost unheard of. In fact, no one dies there at all unless he is very old indeed. In Welsh the place is called Ynys Enlli, and in the Saxon tongue Bardsey Island. The bodies of a vast number of holy men are buried there, or so they say, among them that of Daniel, bishop of Bangor.
[A description of the island by Gerald of Wales, trans. Thorpe, p. 184]
Bardsey had been reconstituted as an Augustinian community by the mid-thirteenth century but prior to that was a hermitage and allegedly a favourite burial spot of the saints.
Standing remains
All that remains of the former Augustinian abbey is a thirteenth-century tower. Today Bardsey is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and is owned by the Bardsey Island Trust which maintains it as a nature reserve and seabird sanctuary.
Dedicated to: Mary Medieval Diocese: Bangor Lordship at foundation: Gwynedd Access: Public Owned by: Bardsey Island Trust
Main events in the history of this site
pre 1240: Foundation - Bardsey was reconstituted as an Augustinian community before the middle of the thirteenth century and soon gained influence, holding considerable areas of the Lleyn peninsula.
[5 sources] c.1291: Wealth - According to the Taxatio Ecclesiastica Bardey's income was c. £16 3s 0d. [1 source] 1509: Levy of fine - The abbot of Bardsey was fined 40s for failing to attend the Augustinian General Chapter at Leicester. [2 sources] c.1535: Wealth - On the eve of the Dissolution Bardsey’s annual income was recorded for the Valor Ecclesiasticus as over £46. [5 sources][1 archive] c.1537: Dissolution - Bardsey was dissolved under the 1536 Act of Suppression. [3 sources] + 3 minor events.Show minor events
