CHAPTER VIII

HEREFORDSHIRE: SOMERSETSHIRE: GLOUCESTERSHIRE: MONMOUTHSHIRE

DORE: GLASTONBURY: BATH: TEWKESBURY: TINTERN: LLANTHONY

DORE (_Cistercian_)

Founded and endowed by Robert, Earl of Ferrars, in the 12th century--1216, Certain lands given to the monastery by King John--1233, These endowments confirmed by Henry III. and the abbey church completed in his reign--15--, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £101, 5s. 2d.

This religious house, like many others of the Cistercian order, was built in a secluded and beautiful spot. Though the architecture of the Cistercian monasteries is not so ornamental or elaborate as those of the Benedictines from whom they sprang, still their churches have a grandeur and simplicity which immediately impress the visitor. Abbey Dore, on the river Dore in Herefordshire, may indeed be included among the most interesting and beautifully situated in England. To quote from _Our Own Country_:--

“It lies wholly in what may be called the sub-Alpine district of the Welsh border, where the undulations as yet rarely rise into prominent and well-defined hills. The scenery ... is worthy ... of the name it bears (‘golden valley’). The sky-line is usually rather level, the valley being excavated out of a plateau; the bounding hills, especially on the left bank, are commonly capped with woods. The slopes are often rather rapid, richly cultivated, varied by abundant hedgerow, timber and scattered copses, and as there is more arable than grass land, there are many changes in the dominant tints of the scenery, from the warm red of the bare soil in the winter to the rich gold of the ripened corn in the late summer. On the right bank many glimpses are caught of the long terrace-like line of the Black Mountains, whose dark bare sides contrast markedly with the cheerful richness of the nearer valley. Glancing backward the scene is more varied; the ridges of Graig and Garway hills and the undulating Saddlebow bound the view.”

Very little remains of the domestic buildings of the monastery--only a portion of a passage abutting on the transept wall and indicating a former “slype.” There are marks of two roofs high up on the same transept wall, showing that the monks’ dormitory was probably there. The nave of the original church is nothing but a ruin and the present church consists only of the former choir, transepts and Lady chapel. John, Lord Scudamore, preserved this portion in the year 1634, re-roofed it, and after generously endowing it, restored it for the purposes of public worship. The original vaulting fortunately still remains over the chapels at the east end of the church. The pews, the oak screen, and western gallery are of the 17th century. The most remarkable part of this interesting abbey church is undoubtedly the east end, which is square. Three lancet-windows, containing old stained glass, light the upper part, under which are three pointed arches leading into an eastern ambulatory. Beyond this are five chapels, three in the centre and two others corresponding with the side aisles. The tower is peculiarly situated at the eastern angle of the south transept. With the exception of the east end, the whole structure is somewhat massive and heavy--Norman work decidedly dominating over the Early English style.

There are some monuments still remaining in the church, including a peculiar slab on which is the small figure of a bishop. Tradition says that it commemorates a boy bishop, but on good authority it is stated that it shows the “burial place of the heart of Bishop John Breton” of the 13th century. The altar possesses great interest to the antiquarian. It is a large slab supported by massive columns which are really capitals of columns, probably discovered in the ruins and put to their present use when the altar slab was recovered from the adjoining farm-house where it is said to have been used for dairy purposes. When Robert, Earl of Ferrars, founded the monastery, he endowed it with lands “to hold free and quit of all secular service, by the rent of three shillings yearly to be paid at the Feast of St. Peter and _ad vincula_; and this was exprest to be given not only for the Health of the Souls of his Ancestors and Heirs but also for the Peace and Stability of all England and Wales.”--Dugdale’s _Monasticon_.

GLASTONBURY (_Mitred Benedictine_)

31 A.D. St Joseph of Arimathæa, with other disciples of St Philip, lands on the south-west coast of England, preaches Christianity to the people, and builds a church on land given him by King Arviragus--433-472, St Patrick becomes first abbot and in a great measure founds the abbey--_c._ 520, Glastonbury saved from destruction by King Arthur, who resists the Saxons at Mount Badon--_c._ 530, A chapel built at the east end of the old church by St David, for use as a chancel--_c._ 597, Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, introduces the Benedictine order into England; its rules observed in Glastonbury--630, Paulinus of York encases in boards of lead the wattled basilica of St Joseph’s chapel--719, The great church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, built by King Ina--946, The abbey practically refounded by Dunstan after being despoiled by the Danes--106--, Abbey partially despoiled by war and Thurstan appointed abbot--1102-20, A Norman church built by Abbot Herlwin and Abbot Henry de Blois, nephew of Henry I.--1184, The new structure consumed by a disastrous fire, and another building begun by Henry II. and completed in 1303--1539, Dissolved--Richard Whiting, last abbot, hung on the Tor by order of Henry VIII. Annual revenue, £3311, 7s. 4d.

Though, once surrounded by fenland, the abbey of Glastonbury--a veritable treasure-house of legendary

lore--stands now amid orchards and level pasture lands engirt by the river Bure. The majestic Tor overshadows this spot, where, undoubtedly, the first British Christian settlement was established. The name of the builder of the first early church can never be ascertained, so that in want of more substantial evidence, the old legend of St Joseph of Arimathæa must be accepted, however slight its claims to historical authority. Certain it is that Christianity was introduced into this land on the island of Yniswytryn, or “Isle of Glass” (so called on account of its crystal streams), in the very early centuries. According to the Arthurian legends, St Philip, Lazarus, Martha, Mary and Joseph of Arimathæa, having been banished by their countrymen, journeyed to Marseilles, from whence Joseph, with twelve companions and holy women, was sent by St Philip to Britain. They landed on the south-west coast and made their way to Glastonbury, then Avalon (and so named in allusion to its apple orchards), and by means of preaching and many miraculous deeds persuaded the people to adopt Christianity. Gaining the goodwill of King Arviragus, they built a church of wattle and twigs on the ground given to them by their royal patron. The Benedictine, with its later developments in Norman times of Augustine and Cluniac orders, was the first religious order introduced into this country. It was instituted in Italy early in the 6th century by St Benedict of Nursia. Many monasteries established before the Conquest came under its sway and were, centuries later, after the Dissolution, converted into Cathedral churches.

A sharp distinction should be drawn between the monasteries established previous to the Conquest and those subsequently founded by the Cistercian and other orders. The former were national houses--in every way belonging to the English people and untouched by Papal influence; while the latter, which were under the immediate control of the Bishop of Rome, were essentially of foreign foundation.

“It cannot be a mere coincidence that the monastery churches still in use are almost invariably of pre-Norman origin and generally of the Benedictine order--the only exceptions being the public portion of churches belonging to ‘foreign’ monasteries which had supplanted a pre-Norman parish church.... National and anti-national foundations alike were overwhelmed in the general dissolution; but while the ‘foreign’ monasteries were all destroyed absolutely ... many of the old Norman minsters continue to be used for the services of the Church of England”--_English Church History_ (Rev. C. ARTHUR LANE).

Glastonbury, “first ground of the saints, the rise and foundation of all religion in the land,” is the earliest and most important Benedictine centre in England; and though, owing to the depredations of men and the wear and tear of time, services are not held now within its ruined walls, it still holds first place among the ecclesiastical monuments in this country. Coel, King of the Britons; Caradercus, Duke of Cornwall; King Arthur and Guinevere his Queen; Kings Kintevymus, Edmund, Edgar, and Edmund Ironside were buried here, as well as other great personages of Church and State.

“In so great reverence was the church and churchyard held where these were interred that our forefathers did not dare to use any idle discourse or to spit therein without great necessity. Enemies and naughty men were not suffered to be buried therein, neither did any bring any Hawk, Dog or Horse upon the ground, for if they did, it was observed that they immediately died thereupon.”--Dugdale’s _Monasticon_.

King Ina, persuaded by St Aldhelm, rebuilt and re-endowed the abbey in the 8th century, renounced his royal state, and lived as an ordinary civilian, being induced to do so by extraordinary devices on the part of his wife Ethelburh. On one occasion, after King Ina had given a great feast to his barons, he and his queen left the castle and proceeded to another of the royal residences. Before leaving, Ethelburh had commanded the servants to strip the castle of all its valuables, furniture, etc., and to fill it with rubbish and to put a litter of pigs in the king’s bed. A short distance on their journey, Ethelburh persuaded the king to return, and showing him over the desecrated palace, exhorted him to consider the utter worthlessness of all earthly splendour and the advisability of joining her on a pilgrimage to Rome. Impressed by her words, Ina acted as she advised, and later endowed a school in Rome in which Anglo-Saxon children might become acquainted with the customs of foreign countries. Ina and Ethelburh spent the remainder of their days in privacy in the Holy City.

The famous Dunstan, one of the greatest of ecclesiastical statesmen, was born in Glastonbury, and after proving his many marvellous capabilities and aptitude for learning, was made abbot of the Benedictine house in his native town in the reign of Edmund the Magnificent. Many strange stories are told of him--the most fantastic perhaps being that of his interview with the natural enemy of man, the Devil himself, during which the reverend man became either so irritated or terrified that he was provoked to seize the nose of his ghostly visitor with a pair of red-hot pincers. Dunstan staunchly supported all the reforms introduced by Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, and in particular the enforcing of more rigid rules upon the clergy or “seculars” in the matter of marriage. The monks or “regulars,” sworn to a life of celibacy, considered that the “seculars” should be subject to similar restrictions. In this matter, Odo’s motives were deeper and more pecuniary than were at first apparent. After the quarrel between the two parties had raged for many years, the “regulars” gained the victory, and much ecclesiastical property changed hands consequent on a large number of the clergy being compelled to enter the monasteries. William the Conqueror despoiled the abbey of much of its property at the beginning of his reign, but later he relented somewhat. Thurstan, a Norman, was appointed abbot, and the monks declining to conform to new musical rules which he enforced in tyrannical fashion, Thurstan summoned soldiers into the sacred building and ruthlessly killed many of the monks.

Though the ruins of Glastonbury are somewhat scanty, they possess an attraction unrivalled for the antiquarian. Of the abbey church only the east piers of the central tower, a single east bay of both transepts with triforium and clerestory, the south wall of the choir, part of the south nave aisle, and the chapel of St Mary remain. The latter is situated in the north transept. The church was originally cruciform, consisting of nave with aisles; north and south transepts with north aisles (containing eastern chapels) and an apsidal east end. The abbot’s stone kitchen, octangular in shape with a pyramidical roof, and built in the 14th century by John de Chinnock, contains four huge fireplaces and is the most perfect portion left of the former magnificent monastery. The chapel of St Joseph of Arimathæa, beneath which is a large crypt, stands to the west of the church.

The fame belonging to this noble foundation exceeded that of any other great building in England. An old writer tells us, “Kings and queens, not only of the west Saxons, but of other kingdoms; several archbishops and bishops; many dukes; and the nobility of both sexes thought themselves happy in increasing the revenues of this venerable house, to ensure themselves a place of burial therein.” The story of the burial of St Joseph of Arimathæa at Glastonbury, to us a mere shadowy legend, was accepted as a fact in the early English ages, and that it figured in the mind of these worthies as endowing Glastonbury with extraordinary sanctity, is beyond doubt.

At the time of the Dissolution no corruption whatever was revealed at Glastonbury, nor any blame recorded against its management. It was still doing splendid work, having daily services and extending its educational influence for miles around. There was but scanty comfort for its inmates, who rested on a straw mattress and bolster on their narrow bedstead in a bare cell, and whose food, duties and discipline were marked by an austere simplicity. Nor were they idle, these monks of Glastonbury,--some taught in the abbey school, others toiled in the orchards, and the beauty of the stained glass, designed within the abbey walls, found fame far and wide. Richard Whiting was Abbot of Glastonbury when in 1539 Henry VIII. ordered inquiries to be made into the condition and property of the abbey. Although he recognised the monarch as supreme head of the church, he respected the Glastonbury traditions and met the “visitors” in a spirit of passive resistance. With the object of preserving them from desecration, the abbot had concealed some of the communion vessels, and for this offence the venerable man was tried, and condemned to death. His head, white with the touch of eighty years, was fixed upon the abbey gate, and the rest of his body quartered and sent to Bath, Wells, Bridgwater and Ilchester. The abbey building--one of the most perfect examples of architecture in the land--served as a stone quarry, much of the material being used to make a road over the fenland from Glastonbury to Wells. The revenue at the time of the Dissolution was over £3000, a big income in those days.

BATH (_Benedictine_)

The history of Bath Abbey is tersely and comprehensively put on a brass tablet on the lower part of the screen which admits to the south aisle of the chancel. It may serve in lieu of the ordinary table of notable events concerning the abbey, for it runs as follows:--

“In 775 the first Cathedral was built by King Offa.

In 973 King Edgar was crowned therein.

About 1010 the church was destroyed by Sweyne the Dane,

And rebuilt by John de Villula, 1018-1122.

In 1137 partly destroyed by fire, it was subsequently restored by Bishop Robert, 1136-1166.

In 1499, then in a ruinous state, was taken down, and Bishop King and Prior Bird began to build the present structure, which was not completed for public worship until 1616.

In 1834 the Corporation of Bath carried out extensive repairs and removed adjoining buildings which for many years disfigured the church.

In 1864 the Reverend Charles Venable, aided by public subscriptions, began the work of restoration under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, R.A.”

No English county is richer in Roman remains than Somersetshire, and with only a few exceptions they are all to be found in Bath. In the early days of their occupation the Romans discovered the value of the hot springs and cleared the rough and primitive British dwellings to erect in their place a splendid city. The Roman baths, which have been unearthed quite recently, bear distinct witness to the early celebrity of the city. These remains cover but a small part of the original site, because it has been calculated the baths alone must have covered an area of seven acres, and in addition there would be the lounges, pleasure grounds, and the villas of the Roman residents. The earliest name of the city of which there is any record is Aquæ Solis--“the waters of the sun.” A temple to a British deity, Sul (thought by the Romans to be the same as their own Sol) has been found near the hot springs. When, therefore, the conquerors built their temple at Aquæ Solis they linked the name of their Goddess Minerva with the British Sul, and on the site of this temple to Sul-Minerva was erected the church of St Peter and St Paul. The nave is the only portion left of the original abbey church.

The present church is a very striking example of the late Perpendicular period--a period of straight lines and huge windows. The building, as it stands, dates from as near as possible 1500, when it was commenced by Bishop Oliver King. It was completed by Bishop Montague in 1616, and a restoration was effected by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1864. The west front, which pictures in sculpture the dream of Bishop Oliver King, is not only one of the grandest, but one of the most singular pieces of architecture in existence. The vision commemorated was one of the Holy Trinity with angels going up and down a ladder, a crown and an olive tree--interpreted by the bishop as a message to him to rebuild the church.

In the churchyard is a pump room, a classical building upwards of a century old, and bearing on its pediment a Greek inscription, the translation of which is “Best on the one hand is water.” The room was built at the suggestion of Beau Nash, the famous organiser of pleasure and the character most intimately associated with the “renaissance” of Bath. He became the uncrowned king of the city and his plans were accepted as law. When it was proposed to place a full length portrait of this “Bathoniæ elegantiæ arbiter,” as he is styled, on his monument, between small busts of Sir Isaac Newton and the poet Pope, Lord Chesterfield made fun of Nash in the oft-repeated epigram:

“Immortal Newton never spoke More truth than here you’ll find: Nor Pope himself ere penned a joke Severer on mankind. This picture placed these busts between Gives satire all its strength; Wisdom and wit are little seen But Folly at full length.”

Among the many pithy epitaphs to be seen on the tablets and slabs inside the abbey church, one, almost hidden in the north aisle of the chancel, and written by Garrick on Quin the actor, is characteristic of the punning tendency of the time:

“That tongue which set the table in a roar And charmed the public ear is heard no more; Closed are those eyes, the harbingers of wit, Which spake before the tongue what Shakespeare writ; Cold is that hand which living was stretched forth At friendship’s call to succour modest worth. Here lies James Quin: deign reader to be taught Whate’er thy strength of body, force of thought, In nature’s happiest mould however cast, To this complexion thou must come at last.” Ob. MDCCLXVI Etates LXXV.

TEWKESBURY (_Mitred Benedictine_)

715, Monastery founded by two brothers, Oddo and Doddo, Dukes of Mercia, on the site of the cell inhabited by Theocus, a hermit--1102, Refounded and endowed by Robert Fitz-Hamon as a Benedictine abbey--Church and monastery built--1123, Church consecrated--1539, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £1598 1s. 3d.--Conventual buildings destroyed but church purchased by the parishioners--John Wakeman, last abbot, retires on a pension and becomes first Bishop of Gloucester--1875, Church restored by Sir Gilbert Scott.

The ruins of this abbey church of a former Benedictine monastery stand overshadowed by the glorious Malvern hills in a beautiful valley in Gloucestershire, through which flow the Avon and Severn with two tributaries. The rich colouring of the country side and the ever varying tints of the surrounding hills make the environment of Tewkesbury one of singular beauty--a perfect setting for the abbey with its imposing Norman tower, one of the most perfect of the kind in England.

The whole building is essentially Norman in spite of the addition of Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular work. The nave of eight bays is of exceptional length, being divided from its aisles by seven massive columns and having both triforium and clerestory. The groined vaulting dates from the 14th century. There are also north and south transepts, the latter having an eastern apsidal chapel; a choir of two bays, while the ambulatory is surrounded by four polygonal chapels. The massive and lofty tower was erected in 1130. Immediately beneath it is inserted a brass to Edward, son of Henry VI., who was foully murdered after the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. This battle, so fatal to the cause of the Red Rose, was fought in a field within half a mile of Tewkesbury, long after known as the Bloody Meadow. Many of the wounded sought refuge in the abbey, only to be dragged forth, after a few days, to their execution in the market place.

Among the many structural beauties which abound in Tewkesbury, none reflect more credit on the design and workmanship of mediæval times than the seven beautiful pointed windows of the choir. The ancient stained glass which fills in these windows is of priceless value--the purity of its colouring excelling the very best modern work. Much of the original glazing has disappeared--that which remains has occupied its place for over four and a half centuries and is a highly prized possession. The window on the north exhibits Fitz-Hamon, the Norman knight who liberally endowed the abbey at the time of its rebuilding in 1102 and was mortally wounded at the siege of Falaise.

Probably the most interesting part of the abbey church to ordinary visitors are the chapels and monuments, which suffered serious injury in the 16th and 17th centuries, but were repaired in the later centuries. Many lords of Tewkesbury, including members of the family of Clare, Despenser, and Beauchamp, are interred in the church, while on the south side of the choir are the remains of what were at one time probably the memorials of every abbot of Tewkesbury from Giraldus to John Wakeman. The Clarence vault is supposed to contain the remains of George, Duke of Clarence, who was mysteriously put to death in the Tower of London by his brother Edward IV. It is said that having been allowed to choose the manner of his death, the Duke elected to be drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. Adjoining the church is the abbey house--formerly the infirmary of the monastery; and west of this again is the embattled gate-house, built in the 14th and 15th centuries by Abbot Parker. Tewkesbury was the last of the religious houses of Gloucestershire to surrender to the commissioners of Henry VIII. Its annual revenue at the time amounted to a sum equivalent to about £40,000 of the present day--a third of which was allotted as pensions to the abbot and monks. The present beautiful church, deemed to be superfluous and consequently ordered to be destroyed, was bought from the king by the people of Tewkesbury. It has undergone frequent restorations, no less than £25,000 having been expended on it between the years 1875 and 1892, while at the present time an effort is being made to restore the grand west front--one of the most beautiful examples of ancient church architecture in England.

TINTERN (_Cistercian_)

1131, Founded by Richard de Bienfaite--Colonised by monks from L’Anmone--In the reign of Henry III., William, Marshal of England and Earl of Pembroke, “Confirmed to God and the Blessed Mary of Tyntern and to the abbot and monks there all the lands and revenues given to them by his ancestors” (Dugdale’s _Monasticon_)--1287, The building of the abbey church begun--153--, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £193, 1s. 4d. Site given to present owners, the Earls of Worcester.

More than one great artist has immortalised the secluded vale, where, on a bend of the Wye and surrounded by wooded hills, the ruins of Tintern Abbey stand. The sombre-looking heights, which close in to the east and west, create the atmosphere of loneliness and separation from the world so sought after by the Cistercian monks, who doubtless found inspiration in the grandeur of the surrounding mountains and in the peacefulness of the sweet valley below. Though the church of the Early English abbey is roofless and the central tower gone, the noble structure, with its many graceful arches, seems to attest to the spirit of religious fervour and devotion so intimately associated with the history of its grey and lichen-covered walls.

The finest part of the ruins is undoubtedly the church, which, with the exception of the roof and the north piers of the nave, still stands complete. It has a nave of six bays with aisles, a choir of four bays with aisles, the transepts with eastern aisles having two chapels. A transverse Galilee stood formerly beyond the western entrance. In the north transept are remains of the dormitory stairs, and on this side the cloisters too were situated. The aumbry, parlour, sacristy, chapter-house, slype to the infirmary, day-stairs to dormitory and undercroft were on the east side of the cloisters; the postern and river gate, over which was the abbot’s lodge on the north side, and also the buttery, refectory and kitchen. The delicacy of design and execution to be seen in the ruins is unrivalled in the kingdom--the tracery of the windows being particularly fine. The ruined church possesses the grace and lightness of architecture peculiar to the 12th century, and is, even in its decay, of truly sublime and grand proportions. Time has been unable to obliterate the skilful work of our forefathers, for the Early English transition arches, the delicate moulding, and the exquisite stone tracery in the windows still delight the eye.

The history of Tintern is almost a hidden page in the chronicles of time. On the surrender of Raglan Castle to the Cromwellian troops by the Marquis of Worcester, the Castle was razed to the ground, and with it were lost the abbey records, which had been taken from Tintern when the abbey was granted to the Marquis’ ancestor by Henry VIII. It is known, however, that the first foundation on the site was in the hands of a cousin of William the Conqueror, Richard de Bienfaite by name. He founded the abbey in 1131, and was succeeded by his nephew, Gilbert “Strongbow.” His granddaughter Isabel married the then Earl of Pembroke, and her daughter, marrying Hugh Bigod, brought the estates to the ducal house of Norfolk.

LLANTHONY (_Augustine Canons_)

1103, William, a retainer and kinsman of Hugh de Lacy, retires to the small chapel once inhabited by St David on this spot; leads the life of a hermit, and is joined by Ernisius, Chaplain to Queen Maud--1108, A small church erected and dedicated to St John the Baptist by the Bishop of the Diocese, the Bishop of Hereford--After some time a brotherhood formed of black Augustine Canons brought from the monasteries at Mereton, Trinity Priory in London and Colchester--Ernisius is made prior--1136, The monks driven from the monastery owing to the hostility of the Welsh and given new ground near Gloucester by Milo, Earl of Hereford, on which they erect a new church--1150, The present edifice at Llanthony built by Prior William of Wycombe--1482-83, Edward IV. gives the priory of Llanthony and all the lands appertaining to it to the prior of the house at Gloucester--1539, Both houses dissolved. Annual revenue £648, 19s. 11d.--1807, The priory at Llanthony purchased by Walter Landon, the eminent writer--1870, Father Ignatius builds a monastery for monks and nuns near Llanthony Abbey.

“’Mongst Hatterill’s lofty hills that with the clouds are crowned The valley Ewias lies immersed so deep and round As they below that see the mountains rise so high Might think the straggling herds were grazing in the sky. Where in an aged cell with moss and ivy grown, In which not to this day the sun hath ever shone, The reverend British saint, in zealous ages past To contemplation lived and did so truly fast As he did drink what crystal Hodney yields And fed upon the leeks he gathered in the fields, In memory of whom, in the revolving year The Welchman on his day that sacred herb do wear.” DRAYTON’S _Polyolbion_.

St David, patron saint of Wales, the British saint alluded to in these lines, is supposed to have been an uncle of the renowned King Arthur. With the consent of his royal nephew, St David removed the bishop’s seat from Cærlon to Menevia, founded many monasteries, and helped to further the rebuilding of Glastonbury Abbey. Although it cannot be claimed that he actually founded Llanthony Abbey still the site of his ruined cell there may have helped to influence the young Norman knight, who, passing through the lovely valley of Ewyas, was so deeply impressed and inspired by the beauty of the district that he resolved to lay aside his arms, to retire to this already consecrated spot and to devote the remainder of his days to prayer and meditation. The stillness of the ancient battlefield, the awful grandeur of the surrounding hills, and all the religious and historical associations of the place must have had at least the attraction of novelty to William de Lacy--a man of the world, accustomed to the gaiety and excitement of the court of Henry I. Not long elapsed before another courtier, Ernisius, chaplain to Queen Maud, became wearied of his many social duties, and journeying to William’s retreat, implored the hermit-knight to allow him to join in his monastic life. William and Ernisius erected a small church and enjoyed the patronage of Hugh de Lacy.

A pretty story is told in connection with the early days of the monastery. Roger, Bishop of Sarum, so vividly described to Henry I. the picturesque situation of the abbey, the devoted work performed by its inmates and the grand proportions of its church, that, shortly after, the King and Queen visited the new foundation. Pretending to finger William’s coarse robe, the kindly Queen placed some money within its folds, but shrank back hastily when coming into contact with the rough hair cloth and iron belt worn by the holy recluse round his body. In course of time the number of monks increased considerably, the rules of St Augustine were observed, and Ernisius made prior. Robert de Betun, successor to Ernisius, and later Bishop of Hereford, entered the monastery under the following romantic conditions:--Caught in a severe snowstorm on the perilous mountains, he, a young Fleming, had given up any hope of his life and was just about to succumb to the resistless longing to lie down and sleep, when, hearing the bells of Llanthony, he felt encouraged to rouse himself, and, after a terrible struggle, succeeded in reaching the abbey gate. The honour of promotion was lost sight of by Prior Robert in his heartbreaking grief at leaving his beloved monastery. Looking back on its sacred walls from the Hatterill Hills, he burst into tears at the thought of leaving all he loved best on earth. The brotherhood at Llanthony included amongst others Walter de Gloucester, Earl of Hereford and Constable of England, who laid aside all worldly honours and assuming the cowl, spent the rest of his life in the monastery. His son Milo, hearing that the monks were being attacked by the Welsh, gave them a tract of land near Gloucester in the 12th century, where the monastery was re-established and a new church built, still known however by the name of Llanthony. The monks speedily transferred their affection to their new habitation, and, according to Dugdale, despoiled their original house in Monmouthshire. “They also became very licentious in their way of living. During this, William, the prior, falling into troubles and vexation as well with the canons of his house as Roger, Earl of Hereford, the patron, was forced to resign his office, to whom succeeded Clement, the sub-prior. This man reformed the abuses that were in the monastery, especially as to the church service.” King John and Edward II. confirmed to the Canons of Llanthony the several lands and revenues given them by their benefactors, and Edward IV. merged the two foundations into one and enforced certain conditions.

Of the original abbey church only the Early English west front (flanked by two massive towers), the north side of nave, detached portions of the north transept, the complete south transept, and parts of central tower, remain. Eight pointed arches span the north side of the nave, but only two remain at the extreme ends of the opposite side. Both aisles have disappeared. The proportions of the entire foundation are noble in the extreme, especially those of the church. Here the monks adjusted the roofs so that an echo might be obtained of the singing, and throughout the building, with its spacious design and perfection of detail, every care and the greatest skill is manifested. Adjoining the south transept is the Early English chapter-house; the ruins of the refectory and guest house are now used as a garden.