Site details: Goldcliff


Home dershane Project team Project News 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: Goldcliff (Priory) also known as: Goldcliff Order: Benedictine High above the water and not far from Caerleon there stands a rocky eminence which dominates the River Severn. In the English language it is called Goldcliff, the Golden Rock. When the sun's rays strike it the stone shines very bright and takes on a golden sheen. [Gerald of Wales, Journey through Wales, trans. Thorpe, pp. 115-16.] Goldcliff was established as an alien priory of Bec Abbey, Normandy, by Robert de Chandos, and was later re-founded as a cell of Tewkesbury Abbey. It became the largest and wealthiest Benedictine house in South Wales. The priory church also served as the parish church.show details of standing remains Standing remains Today a farmhouse stands on the former monastic site. There are few visible remains of the priory but traces of the monastery were recorded by the Royal Commission in May 2010 when aerial photography revealed parched building foundations of a substantial building on the south side of a larger enclosure. A medieval cellar is seemingly beneath the modern farmhouse. It is thought that the present parish church, which dates from the Middle Ages, was previously a barn. Dedicated to: St Mary Magdalene Medieval Diocese: Llandaff Affiliated to: Bec Abbey, Normandy (mother-house); Tewkesbury Abbey (mother-house) Lordship at foundation: Glamorgan Access: Private Owned by: Private Main events in the history of this site 1113: Foundation - The priory was founded and endowed in 1113 by Robert de Chandos, at the instigation of Henry I. [2 sources] 1143: Dispute - Goldcliff was embroiled in a dispute with Bishop Uchtryd of Llandaff (1140-8). [2 sources] 1200: Visitation - The abbot of Bec visited Goldcliff and other dependencies. [1 source] 1274: Levy imposed - Bec imposed a levy on its dependencies. [1 source] 1284: Visitation - Visitation by John Pecham, archbishop of Canterbury. [2 sources] 1290: Concession - By royal command the house was permitted to hold an annual fair to combat its poverty. [2 sources] c.1291: Wealth - According to the figures recorded for the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of Pope Nicholas IV, Goldcliff’s spirtualities and temporalities totalled £171. [3 sources] 1291: Dispute - The prior of Goldcliff was embroiled in a dispute with the priory's patron, Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester. [2 sources] 1295 : Royal custody - The house was seized by the king as an alien priory in August 1295. [2 sources] 1297: Numbers - At this time numbers had fallen to fifteen. [1 source] 1318: Disputed deposition - Prior Ralph was removed from office. [1 source] 1320-1337: Debt - The priory was in debt to the sum of £63 13s 4d; its creditor was Philip de Columbariis (Columbers), patron of the house. [1 source] 1321: Custody - Custody of Goldcliff was given to Thomas, the earl of Norfolk. [2 sources] c.1327: Custody - Following the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War the prior of Goldcliff was permitted to retain custody of the house for the annual sum of £10. [1 source] 1330s: Succession dispute - A long drawn-out dispute over the succession to the priorship dogged the community in the 1330s. [1 source] 1400: Restoration - On 31 March 1400, Goldcliff was formally restored to Prior German de Sancto Vedasto. [1 source] 1410: Rejuvenation - Prior German de St Vaast (Vedasto) took steps to regenerate the priory. [3 sources] c.1420-45: Priorship contended - Prior Laurence de Bonavilla was challenged for the headship of Goldcliff by John Twymyng, a monk of Gloucester. [2 sources] 1424: Destruction - Severe storms and flooding destroyed the church. [1 source] 1442: Re-foundation - Goldcliff was annexed to Tewkesbury Abbey and refounded as a cell of the English house. [3 sources] 1450x70: Dissolution - Monastic life was seriously impeded from c. 1445 but was formally terminated in 1467 and the church was left to ruin. [1 source] 1451 (2 April): Custody - The king granted Goldcliff to Eton College. [2 sources] 1462 (1 Feb): Custody - Goldcliff was granted once more to Tewkesbury. [2 sources][1 archive] 1467: Custody - King Henry reconsidered the custody of Goldcliff and gave it once more to Eton college. [1 source] + 21 minor events. Show minor events People associated with this site Gerald of Wales; Giraldus Cambrensis , archdeacon of Brecon (commentator) Hywel ab Iorwerth , lord of Caerleon (advocate) John Pecham; Peckam; Peckham , Archbishop of Canterbury (conducted visitation) Morgan ab Owain , lord of Caerleon (patron) Priors of Goldcliff Robert de Chandos , Norman magnate (founder) Bibliographical sources 18 Printed sources show sources The Heads of Religious Houses in England and Wales, I, 940-1216, ed. D. Knowles, C. Brooke and V. London (London, 1972; 2001) pp. 103, 263 The Heads of Religious Houses in England and Wales, II, 1216-1377, ed. D. M. Smith and V. London (CUP: Cambridge, 2001) pp. 162-3 The Heads of Religious Houses in England and Wales, III, 1377-1540, ed. David M. Smith (CUP: Cambridge, 2008) pp. 177-178 Medieval Religious Houses, England and Wales, ed. R. Neville Hadcock and David Knowles (Harlow, 1971) pp. 54, 67 The Letters and Charters of Gilbert Foliot, Abbot of Gloucester (1139-48), Bishop of Hereford (1148-63), and London (1163-87), ed. Z. N. Brooke, completed by Dom Adrian Morey and C. N. L. Brooke (Cambridge, 1967) Burton, Janet, 'Transition and transformation: the Benedictine houses', in Monastic Wales: New Approaches, ed. Janet Burton and Karen Stöber (University of Wales: Cardiff, 2013), pp. 21-37 Cooper, R., Abbeys and Priories of Wales (Swansea, 1992) pp. 56-57 Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis), Gerald of Wales, The Journey Through Wales / The Description of Wales (Harmondsworth, 1978) Golding, Brian, 'Trans-border transactions: patterns of patronage in Anglo-Norman Wales', Haskins Society Journal, 16, ed. S. Morillo & D. Korngiebel (Woodbridge, 2006), pp. 27-46 Graham, Rose, 'Four alien priories in Monmouthshire', Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 35 (1930), pp. 102-121 Greenway, W., 'The election of John of Monmouth, bishop of Llandaff', Morganwg, 5 (1961), pp. 3-22 Heale, Martin, The Dependent Priories of Medieval English Monasteries, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion, 22 (Boydell and Brewer: Woodbridge, 2004) Heale, Martin, 'Not a thing for a stranger to enter upon'. The selection of monastic superiors in late medieval and Tudor England', in 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. 51-70 Platt, Colin, The Abbeys and Priories of Medieval England (Avon, 1984) p. 99 Rippon, S., Gwent Levels: The Evolution of a Wetland Landscape, Council for British Archaeology Research Report, 105 (York, 1996) pp. 82-83 StÃ¶ber, 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 StÃ¶ber (Boydell and Brewer: Woodbridge, 2008), pp. 12-24 Williams, David H., Welsh History through Seals (Cardiff Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru: Cardiff, 1982) p. 29 Williams, David H., 'Goldcliff priory', The Monmouthshire Antiquary, 3 (1970-1971), pp. 37-54 1 On-line sources show online sources (all open in new window) RCAHMW, Coflein database - Goldcliff Priory (View website) Archival sources The National Archives, 'Petitions to the king, council, parliament etc - abbot and monks of Tewkesbury', (Document), (View website) The National Archives, 'Treasury receipt with seal of Goldcliff appended', (Document), (View website) Related articles on Monastic Wales Who were the Benedictines?, Professor Janet Burton	Newport, OS Grid:ST3715681961 View site details on COFLEIN (RCAHMW database)[new window]

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