Margam Abbey (St. Mary the Virgin) od hugh llewelyn

Margam Abbey (St. Mary the Virgin), 16 June 2015. In 1147 Robert the Consul, Earl of Gloucester founded a Cistercian Abbey on the site of an old Celtic monastery. The present Abbey and Church was built 1175-80, in Norman style. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, Margam Abbey fell into ruin but part of the Abbey Church became the parish church, although the present 115 ft long church is less than half the length of the original which was 275 feet, one of the longest in Wales. The church was very heavily restored in 1805 and the roof lowered, requiring the original clerestory windows to be blocked-up. Pictured is the 12-sided, 50' diameter Chapter House, dating from 1200 in Transitional Norman style. After the monastery's dissolution, the Mansel family used it as a coal store for the adjacent stately home, Margam Castle, which he built from the stones of the Abbey.