Maenan Abbey
Maenan Abbey (formally: The Abbey Church of Saint Mary and All Saints; alternatively: Abaty Maenan, or Maynan Abbey; now Maenan Abbey Hotel) was a monastic religious house located in Maenan, Conwy, Wales. It is situated near Llanrwst.
History
A Cistercians community was founded at Rhedynog Felen near Caernarfon in 1186 by a group of monks from Strata Florida Abbey. In 1190/91, they moved to Conwy, establishing Aberconwy Abbey, and in 1283, they transferred to Maenan after a forced move by order of Edward I, this abbey's founder.[1] The cause of the change was, that Edward had selected the site of their original house on which to erect the magnificent castle of Aberconway; and probably being jealous of their communication with his new subjects, their countrymen, he soon after further removed them to the famous abbey of Vale Royal, in Cheshire. The establishment at Maenan, nevertheless, continued to flourish until the period of the dissolution, when its revenue was valued at £179. 10. 10. In 1563, the site of the abbey, together with the township of Maenan, was granted to Elizeus Wynne, who took down a great part of the buildings, and erected a mansion near the spot with the materials. The original edifice was equally remarkable for the pleasantness of its situation and the beauty of its architecture: a small arch is the only portion of it now standing. The inhabitants attend the parish church of Llanddoget, in the county of Denbigh, for the performance of ecclesiastical rites. Of the rateable annual value of the liberty, the return made amounts to £1436. 5. 2. Maenan Abbey was dedicated to Saint Mary and All Saints. The monastic community was dissolved c.1538.
In 1885, the Cambrian Archaeological Association noted discrepancies regarding the subsequent history of the Maenan Abbey estate:
- "Dugdale says, in his Monasticon, vol. v, p. 671:—"In 26 Henry VIII, the revenues of Conway, otherwise Maynan Abbey, amounted in clear income to £162 15s., in gross revenue to £179 10s. 10c?. The site was granted in the fifth year of Queen Elizabeth to Elizaeus Wynne, in whose family it still continues, Lord Newborough being the present owner. A large house built from the materials of the abbey still remains." On the other hand, in the pedigree of Wynne of Garthewin, we find it stated that William Wynne of Melai married Mary, heiress of Maenan Abbey, being daughter and co-heir of Sir Richard Clough of Plas Clough, co. Denbigh. She died in 1632, and the abbey descended in the male line to John Wynne of Melai and Maenan, Sheriff of Denbighshire in 1712, who married Sydney, second daughter of Sir William Williams of Llanvorda, by whom he left two co-heirs, of whom Jane, the elder, married Sir John Wynn of Bodvean, and was so mother of Thomas Wynn, created Lord Newborough, 23rd July 1776."[2]
The original abbey no longer exists, though a large house, using its materials, was subsequently built.[2] Reused materials from the abbey were also incorporated in Gwydir Castle. The stone coffin of Prince Llewelyn the Great was moved from the abbey to the Gwydir Chapel at the church in Llanrwst.[2] In modern times, the site was developed into the Maenan Abbey Hotel.
References
- ^ Long, George; Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain) (1837). The Penny cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: v. 1-27 (Public domain ed.). C. Knight. pp. 390–. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ^ a b c Cambrian Archaeological Association (1885). Archaeologia cambrensis: the journal of the Cambrian Archoeological Association (Public domain ed.). published for the Association by J. R. Smith. pp. 110–. Retrieved 24 March 2012.