The Problem of Pendar: a lost abbey in medieval Senghenydd and the transformation of the church in South Wales ‘A thesis submitted to the University of Wales Lampeter in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy’ 2015 Paul Anthony Watkins The Problem of Pendar: a lost abbey in medieval Senghenydd and the transformation of the church in South Wales List of figures Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter I: The Problem of the Abbey of Pendar: the documentary evidence The ‘problem’ and the historiography The Pendar charters The problem of dating Who was Brother Meilyr? Chapter II: The Problem of Pendar: the evidence of the landscape Mapping the charter The archaeology of the charter area The evidence of place names Conclusion Chapter III: The Native Lords of Glamorgan, Senghenydd and Gwynllwg The native lords of Glamorgan The Lords of Senghenydd The kingdoms of Deheubarth, Caerleon and Gwynllŵg Conclusion: Chapter IV: The Earls of Gloucester and Lands of Glamorgan Robert fitz Hamo and the establishment of Norman power in south Wales The followers of Robert fitz Hamo Robert de la Haye The family of de Londres The earls of Gloucester Robert, earl of Gloucester William, earl of Gloucester King John The de Clare earls Hugh le Despencer Conclusion Chapter V: The changes made by immigrant lordship on the church in South East Wales in the early years of the conquest The Pre-Norman church Changes made by Immigrant Lordships Tewkesbury Abbey Gloucester Abbey and its dependency at Ewenny Glastonbury Abbey The Alien Priories St Augustine’s Abbey, Bristol The church under native lordship Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography Appendices Figures and Maps I.1 Copy of Manuscript Penrice and Margam 10 supplied by the National Library of Wales. I.2 Copy of Manuscript Penrice and Margam 54 supplied by the National Library of Wales. I.3 Copy of Manuscript Penrice and Margam 23 supplied by the National Library of Wales. I.4 Clark, ‘Lords of Avon, of the Blood of Jestyn’ I.5 The Lordship of Glamorgan I.6 The Great Roll of the Pipe for the twentieth year of the reign of King Henry the Second, A.D. 1173-1174, Pipe Roll Society Publications, 21 (1896), p. 22 I.7 Dates and nature of appearances in documentary record of Meilyr II.1 The Lordship of Glamorgan II.2 W. Rees, Map of South Wales and the Border in the 14th Century SE II.3 Gelligaer Castle II.4 Reconstructed boundary of the charter area in Senghenydd II.5 Nineteenth-century map of Merthyr Tydfil and Bryn Cerau II.6 ???? II.6 OS map of Merthyr Tydfil and Bryn Cerau 1885 II.7 OS map of Merthyr Tydfil and Bryn Cerau, 2014 II.8 Showing the Bargoed area of Gelligaer Common Charles Budgon, map of Abergaveny, 1813 II.9 Showing the Fforest Gwladys area of Gelligaer CommonUnions map 1833 II.10 Nineteenth-century map of Hengoed, Gelligaer, and Penderyn II.11 Monmouthshire sheet XXII surveyed 1873-1879, published 1886 Gelligaer II.12 OS map of Gelligaer, 2014 II.13 OS map of Gelligaer and Ystrad Mynach, 2014 II.14 Nineteenth-century OS map: area between Nelson and Ystrad Mynach II.15 Charles Budgon, map of Bedwas 1813 II.16 OS map of Quaker’s Yard, 2014? II.17 Rees. Map of South Wales and the Border in the 14th Century SE. (Ordinance Survey, 1932). II.18 OS map of Fforest Gwladys area, 2014 II.19 OS map of northern Gelligaer Common, 2014 II.20 Church at Coly Uchaf.Rees. Map of South Wales and the Border in the 14th Century SE. (Ordinance Survey, 1932) II.21 Church at Coly Uchaf OS map of western area of Gelligaer Common 2014 II.22 Arial view of the chapel at Dinas Noddfa (Coly Uchaf) II.23 Gelligaer church II.24 Cwrt Y Bettws and Penderyn Charles Budgon, map of Abergaveny 1813 II.25 Cwrt Y Bettws and Pendaren House Ordnance Survey Maps - Six-inch England and Wales, 1901 II.26 As Above but Ordnance Survey Maps - Six-inch England and Wales, 1953 II.27 As Above but Rees. Map of South Wales and the Border in the 14th Century SE. (Ordinance Survey, 1932) II.28 Maesllan Lands OS map of Gelligaer 2014 II.29 Gethin-Thomas map of Maes Llan area II.30 Faldray on Saxton map of Glamorgan II.31 Possible site of Faldray Ordnance Survey 2014 II.32 suggested site of the St Cadog monastery II.33 modern representation and cross on the site of St Gwladys chapel II.34 south west boundary of the enclosure of Capel Gwladys II.35 Enclosure boundary viewed from the east Capel Gwladys II.36 Further view of the eastern enclosure boundaries: Capel Gwladys II.37 Two boundary banks to the north west: Capel Gwladys II.38 Enclosure boundaries to the north Capel Gwladys II.39 Ordnance Survey map of Bedlinog area, 2014 II.40 Ordnance Survey map of Bryn Caerau, 2104 II.41 East of Merthyr Tydfil area Ordnance Survey of Great Britain 154 - Cardiff 1:63360 New Popular Edition III.1 Native Lords of Glamorgan III.2 The Lords of Senghenydd III.3 Kings of Deheubarth, Caerleon and Gwynllŵg III.4 Kings of Deheubarth and lords of Caerleon,1023-1248 IV.1 Rhys of Wales debt to William I IV.2 Robert Fitz Hamo IV.3 Robert of Gloucester IV.4 Robert of Gloucester Founders Chapel Tewkesbury IV.5 William of Gloucester IV.6 King John IV.7 Gilbert de Clare I earl of Gloucester d. 1230 IV.8 Richard De Clare II, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester d. 1262 IV.9 Gilbert II, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford (Gilbert the Red) d.1295 IV.10 Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Gloucester d. 1326 V.1 St Cadog (Cattwg) church sites V.2 church sites associated with Cadog’s associates V.3 Inset of the Senghenydd / Gwynllŵg / Gwent areas of Figure V.2 V.4 map of churches of Tewkesbury Abbey V.5 the churches of Tewkesbury Abbey in Cardiff V.6 churches granted to Gloucester’s dependency of Ewenny Priory V.7 Gloucester churches other than Ewenny. V.8 St Cadoc’s church, Llancarfan V.9a Bassaleg Churches V.10 churches granted to the alien priories V.10b The churches of Chepstow Priory V.10c The churches of Monmouth Priory V.10d The churches of Abergavenny Priory V.10e The churches of Goldcliff Priory V.10f The churches of Malpas Priory V.10g The churches of Usk Priory V.10h Location of Llangua Priory V.11 The churches of St Augustine’s, Bristol V.12a The churches of Senghenydd V.12b The churches of Llantarnam Abbey V.12c Senghenydd, Llantarnam, and Bassaleg churches Acknowledgments I am grateful for all the help and support given be by my supervisory team Professor Janet Burton and Dr William Marx of Lampeter who have been an inspiration to me for this thesis. Thank you for all your encouragement and patience. I also wish to thank my friends and family for their patience when all I have talked about is the Abbey of Pendar and the churches of South Wales. Thirdly I wish to thank all those who have given support and advice particularly when I have presented papers related to the work of this. I wish to thank in particular; Dr. Euryn Roberts, and Professor Ralph A. Griffiths who at the Medieval Wales Colloquium at Bangor University 2014, were so encouraging and helpful with constructive suggestions. Also Dr Karen Stöber and Professor Janet Burton and their other colleagues in the Monastic Wales team for inviting me to present twice at the Leeds International Medieval Congress in 2011 and 2014. Thank you all. Introduction This thesis began life as an investigation of monastic patronage on the Southern Welsh March between the coming of the Normans and around 1300. Investigation of this broad area of research identified a more focused area as the phenomenon of Pendar. Pendar is known to have had association with the Cistercian Order but its precise status within the order has never been fully understood. Indeed, its very location has never been identified. This thesis therefore offers an investigation of what can be known of Pendar and its significance both within the history of the Cistercian movement in Wales and within the geographical area of Senghenydd. The Cistercians in Wales The Cistercian Order was by far the most successful of the monastic orders in Medieval Wales but it was not the first new monastic movement to arrive in Wales in the wake of the Norman settlement from the 1070s onwards. The early phase of expansion was dominated by a number of Benedictine priories distinguished by their dependence on Norman, French or English abbeys.1 They were – with the exception of Cardigan on the coast of west Wales and the short-lived Benedictine phase of the great church of Llanbadarn Fawr – all located in South Wales, the area most quickly settled by the incomers. Many of these Benedicine priories were closely associated with the castles of the incomers and thus in their own way a symbol of conquest. By the late 1120s they had been joined by two houses of Augustinian canons, Carmarthen in the royal borough of that name, and Llanthony Prima on the borders of 1 For a recent discussion of the Benedictine foundations in South Wales see Janet Burton, ‘Transition and transformation: the Benedictine houses’, in Monastic Wales: New Approaches, ed. by Janet Burton and Karen Stöber (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2013), pp. 21-37. 1 England and Wales. However it was to be the Cistercian Order that had most impact on the history of Medieval Wales.