CISTERCIAN ABBEYS: Whitland

Whitland

location:	Whitland, Carmarthenshire, Wales
founded:	1140
daughter of:	Clairvaux
current status:	ruins
visit:	all year
pictures taken :	May 2011
The first Cistercian foundation in Wales, Whitland went on to become the mother-house of most of the abbeys founded in Wales. Though the abbey seems to have flourished in the thirteenth century, it declined during the reign of Edward I and was dissolved in 1539. Sadly, there is little to see today apart from grass-covered parts of the abbey walls.

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In 1098, aspiring to a return to the strict observance of the rule of St Benedict, Robert de Molesme founded a New Monastery at Citeaux. Within twenty years the Order of Cistercians had spread to four daughter abbeys, and continued to expand rapidly. By 1250, the order numbered 650 abbeys across Europe and the Near East. Though many have been destroyed by wars and revolutions, those that remain provide a fascinating collection of outstanding sites.

My first visit to a Cistercian abbey was several years ago, to Noirlac, in Cher in central France. I found the austere design of the Cistercian ideal so attractive that I have been visiting Cistercian abbeys ever since. Though they vary considerably in their state of repair, many are open to the public.

I am gradually adding photos and brief details of each of the abbeys I have visited, but anyone who wishes to add further photos or information by way of comment is most welcome to do so.

Kath Banks

July 2009