Editing Margam Abbey

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox church
| name = Margam Abbey
| native_name = Abaty Margam
| native_name_lang = cy
| other name = St Mary's Abbey Church, Margam
| image = Margamabbey-wyrdlight-7458.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Margam Abbey: the present parish Church of St Mary comprises the nave of the abbey church
| coordinates = 
| location = [[Margam]], [[Port Talbot]], [[Neath Port Talbot]]
| country = [[Wales]]
| founded date = 1147
| years built = 
| dedication = [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Saint Mary]]
| denomination = [[Church in Wales]]
| previous denomination  = [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]
| churchmanship = [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic]]
| status = [[Parish church]]
| functional status = Active
| heritage designation = [[Listed building#Grade I|Grade I]]
| designated date = 
| architect = 
| style = [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]]
| parish                 = 
| deanery                = 
| archdeaconry           = [[Archdeacon of Margam|Margam]]
| diocese = [[Diocese of Llandaff|Llandaff]]
| province = [[Church in Wales|Wales]]
}}

'''Margam Abbey''' ({{langx|cy|Abaty Margam}}) was a [[Cistercian]] [[monastery]], located in the [[village]] of [[Margam]], a [[suburb]] of modern [[Port Talbot]] in  [[Wales]].

==History==
[[File:Margain Abbey, Glamorganshire.jpeg|thumb|left|Margam Abbey ruins 1805]]
The [[abbey]] was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of [[Clairvaux Abbey|Clairvaux]] by [[Robert, Earl of Gloucester]], and was dedicated to [[Mary, mother of Jesus|the Blessed Virgin Mary]].  Early Christian crosses found in the close vicinity and conserved in the nearby [[Margam Stones Museum]] suggest the existence of an earlier [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic monastic community]].  The founding abbot was William of Clairvaux. The third abbot, Conan, enjoyed the praise of [[Giraldus Cambrensis]], whom he appears to have entertained prior to his official visit with [[Baldwin of Forde]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], to preach the Crusade in 1188. Conan (or Cunan) contributed to [[Patristic literature]], as he is credited with the ''[[Pilcrow|capitula]]'' or chapter-headings prefixing each section of [[Bernard of Clairvaux|St. Bernard]]'s ''Sermons on the Song of Songs'', one of the works for which that author was titled a [[Doctor of the Church]].<ref>{{Cite CE1913|wstitle=St. Bernard of Clairvaux}}</ref>

The ''[[Annales de Margan]]'' are a contemporary chronicle in Latin, beginning with the death of [[Edward the Confessor]] in 1066 and ending with [[Henry III of England|Henry III's]] quarrel with [[Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent|Hubert de Burgh]] in the year 1232. The chief source for the earlier portion was likely [[Historia Regum Britanniae|William of Malmesbury's history]]. The text gives accounts of the purported discovery of the bones of [[King Arthur]], and of the alleged murder of [[Arthur I, Duke of Brittany|Prince Arthur]] by [[John, King of England|King John]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Luard|first=Henry Richards|url=http://archive.org/details/annalesmonastici01luar|title=Annales monastici|date=1864|publisher=London : Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green|others=PIMS - University of Toronto}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=British Library|url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/murder-of-prince-arthur-in-chronicle-of-margam-abbey|access-date=2021-08-05|website=www.bl.uk}}</ref>

Sir John Buchanan-Jardine (third baronet [[Buchanan-Jardine baronets|Buchanan-Jardine]]) recounts a tradition that Margam Abbey kept a pack of hunting hounds donated to them by a continental Abbey (which he takes to be the [[Abbey of Saint-Hubert]]).<ref>Buchanan-Jardine, J. (1937), Hounds of the World.</ref>

The abbey was [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved]] by King [[Henry VIII of England]] in 1536 and sold to Sir [[Rice Mansel]]. Significant holdings of the monastery library appear to have survived this event, including the manuscript of the annals. At this time, only 12 [[monk]]s were living in the monastery.  From the [[Mansel family]] the abbey eventually passed to their descendants in the female line, the Talbot family.  In the 19th century, C R M Talbot constructed a mansion at [[Margam Castle]] which overlooks the abbey ruins.  The nave of the abbey continued in use as the [[parish church]], as it does to this day. It is Anglo-Catholic in its churchmanship.<ref>Blagdon-Gamlen, P. E., ed. (1973) ''The Church Travellers Directory''. London: Church Literature Association; p. 86</ref>

==Today==
[[File:Margam Abbey ruin chapter house.jpg|left|thumb|Chapter House ruins]]
Margam Abbey now consists of the intact nave and surrounding ruins.  Those ruins not belonging to the church are now owned by the County Council.  These remains, including the twelve-sided [[chapter house]], dating from the 13th century, stand within 840 acre (3.4&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) [[Margam Country Park]], close to [[Margam Castle]]. The Abbey church of St Mary, the ruined Chapter House and the Abbey undercroft are all [[Grade I listed]] buildings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-14148-st-mary-s-abbey-church-margam|title= St Mary's Abbey Church, Margam|publisher= British Listed Buildings|access-date = 13 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-14149-ruins-of-chapter-house-and-vestibule-of-s|title= Ruins of Chapter House and Vestibule of St Mary's Abbey, Margam|publisher= British Listed Buildings|access-date = 13 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-14150-ruined-undercroft-at-st-mary-s-abbey-marg|title= Ruined Undercroft at St Mary's Abbey, Margam|publisher= British Listed Buildings|access-date = 13 July 2015}}</ref>

On a hill overlooking the abbey stand the ruins of an outlying monastery building, Capel Mair ar y Bryn ("the chapel of St Mary on the hill"). The purpose of this building is thought to have been to allow members of the monastic community who were engaged in the keeping of flocks to fulfil their devotional obligations without having to return to the main church.

== Tree of the Year 2020 ==
[[File:Chapter house, Margam.jpeg|alt=A pencil drawing showing an image of the Chapter House, with trees in the foreground.|thumb|A view of the Chapter House, with trees in the foreground.]]
In 2020, a [[beech]] tree located in the ruins of Margam Abbey was voted [[Tree of the Year (United Kingdom)|Tree of the Year]] in Wales.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=2020-10-22|title=Wales Tree of the Year: Margam Abbey's Chapter House beech wins|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-54632995|access-date=2021-05-17}}</ref>

The 'Chapter House Tree' won an online vote conducted by the Welsh [[Woodland Trust]], beating other trees such as the [[The Indian Bean Tree, St James Square, Monmouth|Monmouth Catalpa Tree]] and the [[Chirk Castle]] Sweet Chestnut.<ref name=":0" /> It was awarded £1000 as a prize, and received 1118 votes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Margam Park's historic beech is crowned Wales Tree of the Year|url=https://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/news/18820489.historic-beech-growing-margam-park-crowned-wales-tree-year/|access-date=2021-05-18|website=South Wales Guardian|date=25 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Margam Country Park]]
*[[Margam Stones Museum]]
*[[List of monastic houses in Wales]]
*[[List of Scheduled Monuments in Neath Port Talbot]]

==Photos==
*Original Abbey Complex:[https://web.archive.org/web/20060113230418/http://www.glamorganwalks.com/Margam_Abbey.jpg]
*[https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3163656 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Margam Abbey]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* ''A History of Margam Abbey'', Walter de Gray Birch, Bedford Press, 1897
*Bernard de Clairvaux, ''Sermons sur le Cantique Tome I (Sermons 1–15)''; introduction, traduction et notes par Paul VERDEYEN, s.j. et Raffaele FASSETT, o.c.s.o., 1996 ([[Sources Chrétiennes]], no. 414), p.&nbsp;55.

{{coord|51.5561|N|3.7292|W|source:dewiki_region:GB_type:landmark|format=dms|display=title}}
{{Scheduled Monuments in Wales}}

[[Category:Margam]]
[[Category:Cistercian monasteries in Wales]]
[[Category:Ruins in Wales]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Neath Port Talbot]]
[[Category:1147 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1140s]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Neath Port Talbot]]
[[Category:Ruined abbeys and monasteries]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Neath Port Talbot]]
[[Category:Anglo-Catholic church buildings in Wales]]
[[Category:Church in Wales church buildings in West Glamorgan]]
[[Category:12th-century establishments in Wales]]
[[Category:Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation]]