Abbey Cwmhir Heritage Trust - Demystifying the Abbey

INTRODUCTION Abbeycwmhir or Abbey Cwmhir (Welsh: Abaty Cwm Hir, "Abbey in the Long Valley") is a village and community in the valley of the Nant Clywedog in Radnorshire, steeped in history and natural beauty, virtually undiscovered in the modern world. The village sits in the base of the valley close to the Clywedog brook and is surrounded by hills. The village is named after Cwmhir Abbey, the Cistercian Abbey built there in 1176. It had the longest nave of all Cistercian Abbeys in Europe. There is a memorial stone within The Abbey ruins to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, whose body is believed to be buried there. More information can be found on the Abbeycwmhir Heritage Trust Website. There are many mysteries associated with the Abbey. In 2019 Abbeycwmhir Heritage Trust launched a four-year community heritage project to ‘Demystify Cwmhir Abbey’ in Radnorshire. The project involves a range of aspects of Abbeycwmhir’s heritage such as collecting oral memories, desk research and field research into the sacred landscape within which Cwmhir Abbey sits. A Heritage Research Group is actively investigating aspects of the Home Grange of the abbey advised by Cadw, Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, the University of Wales, and the AHRC funded Sacred Landscapes project based at Strata Florida. More information can be found on Demystifying the Abbey’s Website. People are a significant part of our heritage and it is important to document their experiences of living in Abbeycwmhir. We are collecting memories of the village, both past and present. These memories will be recorded and preserved for future generations here on the People's Collection Wales.