CISTERCIAN ABBEYS: Basingwerk

Basingwerk

location:	Holywell, Wales
founded:	1131
daughter of:	Buildwas; originally Savigniac, admitted to the Cistercian order in 1147
current status:	ruins in the care of CADW
visit:	all year round
pictures taken :	May 2011
...

view across the cloister towards the Chapter House and South Transept

entrance to the Chapter House

interior wall of the Refectory

looking north west, towards the back of the Chapter House

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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