The community originally settled at Rehednog-fel (Rhedynog Felen), Conwy, but moved to Aberconwy. In 1283 the community was forced to relocate by Edward I, who wished to build a castle and walled town in the area. The monks duly resettled at Maenan where they remained until the Dissolution. Edward I considered this a refoundation and regarded himself as the abbey's royal patron.show details of standing remains
Standing remains
A nineteenth-century hotel now occupies the former monastic site and there are few visible remains of the abbey which seemingly lay east of the hotel. Something of the layout of the thirteenth-century church is known from excavations at the site in 1924, 1963 and 1968.
Dedicated to: Virgin Mary Medieval Diocese: St Asaph Affiliated to: Strata Florida (mother-house) Lordship at foundation: Gwynedd Access: Public hotel Owned by: Hotel occupies site
Main events in the history of this site
1283-1284: Relocation - The community relocated to Maenan for Edward I wished to build a castle at Aberconwy and a walled town. [2 sources] 1284: Royal visit - In October 1284 Edward I and his queen visited the newly-buit monastery. [1 source] 1284: Reparations - Edward I awarded the abbey £100 to compensate the community for damages incurred as a result of his campaigns. [1 source] 1291: Wealth - According to the Taxatio Ecclesiastica the monastery's total annual income at this time was £76 15s 8d. [4 sources] 1344: Debt - The abbey was in debt to the Italian merchants of Florence to the sum of £200. [1 source] 1346: Debt - The monastery owed a significant sum of money to the Black Prince. [1 source] 1379: Poll tax - The abbot was to pay 19s, the prior and each of the four monks 20d. [1 source][1 archive] c.1401: Destruction - The monastery suffered damages during the rebellion. [2 sources] 1482: Payments to former abbot's kin - The Cistercian General Chapter investigated two annual payments that were being made by the monastery. [1 source] 1484: Tussle for the abbacy - David Winchcombe’s right to the abbacy was challenged by David Lloyd who was supported by the king, Richard II. [1 source] c.1535: Income - In the survey of c. 1535 (Valor Ecclesiasticus) the net income of the abbey was recorded as £162. [2 sources][1 archive] 1537: Dissolution - The abbey was one of the first casualties of the Suppression and was closed in March 1537. [1 source] + 10 minor events.Show minor events
Burton, Janet, 'The foundation of the British Cistercian houses', in Cistercian Art and Architecture in the British Isles, ed. Christopher Norton and David Park (Cambridge, 1986), pp. 24-39
Butler, L. A. S., 'The lost choir: What was built at three Cistercian abbey churches in Wales?', in Perspectives for an Architecture of Solitude: Essays on Cistercians, Art and Architecture in Honour of Peter Fergusson, Medieval church studies, 11; Cîteaux. Studia et documenta, 13, ed. Terryl N. Kinder (Turnhout, 2004), pp. 115-123
Kerr, Julie, 'Cistercian hospitality in the later Middle Ages', in Monasteries and Society in the British Isles in the Later Middle Ages, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion, 35, ed. Janet Burton and Karen Stöber (Woodbridge, 2008), pp. 25-39
Stephenson, David, The Aberconwy Chronicle, Kathleen Hughes memorial lectures on mediaeval Welsh history, 2 (Cambridge, 2002)
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
