Strata Florida Abbey (Ruins)

 ruins, christianity, monastery, Order of Cistercians, catholicism

A former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was originally founded in 1164.
Strata Florida Abbey (Welsh: Abaty Ystrad Fflur). It was founded by a group of monks from Whitland Abbey, at a time of very fast expansion of the Cistercian order.Construction work on the church began, and it was consecrated in 1201. Strata Florida's importance in the Welsh cultural landscape quickly intensified. Around 1238, not even forty years after the building of the Church, the Welsh Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, also known as Llywelyn the Great held a council at Strata Florida. Here he made the other Welsh Princes swear that they would acknowledge his son Dafydd as his rightful successor.

Strata Florida increased in power and authority in Wales. Farms belonging to Strata Florida ('granges') were spread out across the Welsh countryside, and its influence was felt throughout Wales.1401 the Abbey was plundered by the English army as a punishment. The King occupied it as a military base as he planned the capture or defeat of the rebel leaders active in the area. Henry VIII's dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church, the monasteries were dissolved. Monks throughout the realm were concerned for the safety of not only their religious houses, but their practices and relics. It is said that Monks from Glastonbury Abbey were concerned about the fate of one of their most famous relics - the Holy Grail! An enterprising bunch were said to have set out on course for Strata Florida, in order to offer the relic a place of safety.
Strata Florida was not excused from the wrath of Henry VIII, and the monastery was dissolved in the 1540s by the church commissioners. The refectory and dormitory were rebuilt into a gentry house, now known as Ty Abaty, which was owned by a number of families, including the Steadmans and the Powells of Nanteos.