Tintern is probably most famous for its abbey, the first Cistercian abbey in Wales, set on the valley floor beside the River Wye on the Welsh side of the border between Chepstow and Monmouth and welcoming new walker Sue to the group seven members joined Joy there on a bright autumnal morning.
In 1131 the abbey was founded by Walter de Clare and Cistercian monks from France were attracted to settle in the remote and desolate area as they believed in a simple life of spiritual prayer and lots of hard work. The abbey Great Church was built twice, once in 1131 as a simple building and as the abbey became more prosperous the second church, the stunning ruins of which remain today without its roof and glass, was built in the latter 13th century in a lavish style with intricate windows and Gothic arches. A chapter house, library, refectory, dormitories and an infirmary surrounded the main abbey which housed over 100-choir monks who were all ordained priests and ‘lay brothers’ who assisted with the running of the abbey, but local people were also employed to assist with building and agricultural work. The daily routine at the abbey began at 1.30am during the summer and was interspersed with chanting, prayer, work and study along with two vegetarian meals although fish and meat was allowed for the infirm and older monks.
In 1348 the Black Death ran rampant through the country which made it almost impossible to recruit new members for the brotherhood and as the feudal system gave way to workers being paid wages, there was a shortage of labour. But the monastic life of the abbey came to an end following the political actions of King Henry V111 who in order to obtain his divorce decided to take control of the church and break with Rome in order to become its supreme head and ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Tintern surrendered to the King’s men on 3 September 1536 when apart from Abbot Wyche there were only 12-choir monks and 35-monastic servants present. The abbey and its land was granted to Charles Herbert, Earl of Worcester but with its windows smashed, its roof missing and stone removed for local construction work, the abbey soon fell into decay.
Allegedly Viking long ships rowed up the river Wye as far as Monmouth and because of the hilly surrounding terrain and lack of roads the river became a commercial waterway carrying coal, wood, charcoal, iron-ore and stone down to Bristol and flat-bottomed trows which could weigh a much as 100-tons were used. The remains of various wharfs can be seen at low tide along the river bank and fishing was also important and weirs were built to trap the fish.
The group set off past the Anchor Inn adjoined to which lie the remains of the old Watergate that led down to the wharves and ferry on the River Wye. At nearby Abbey Mill the Angiddy stream was thundering below the bridge and the stream was used since medieval times for water power. In 1568 the first brass works in Britain was opened in Tintern by Queen Elizabeth 1 with shares being held by the Herbert family and Sir Francis Bacon. Then the ironworks was built and in 1671 a blast furnace high up in the Angiddy valley was operated day and night on a shift system. The blast furnace produced pig iron which was used locally for the production of wire as well as being transported around the country to make fish hooks, pins, wire combs, farthingales and bird cages. Brass canon was also made during the Napoleonic Wars and wire was produced for the first trans-ocean cable laid by Isambard Brunel’s ship the ‘Great Eastern’.
Crossing the footbridge over the River Wye, built in 1875 which connected the wire works with a railway link they headed along the muddy disused Wye Valley railway line below steep wooded cliffs for some time before climbing gently uphill through Black Morgan’s Wood in warm sunshine. After morning coffee a track in the wood just below Offa’s Dyke Path, one of the several diversions set up in this particular area to protect the ancient dyke from further erosion, led on through the woods.
King Offa ruled his kingdom of Mercia from 757-796 and frequent invasions from the rebellious Welsh led to him to order a massive earthwork to be constructed which roughly follows the English/Welsh border. It runs from Prestatyn in North Wales to Beachley in the south and was 27-metres wide and 8-metres high, but in many places has disappeared.
On the way to the Devil’s Pulpit the group passed several other walkers and dogs, but most surprisingly two Friesian cows who had evidently escaped from somewhere and seemed to be enjoying their freedom. It was hard to discern who was the most shocked by their appearance, the walkers or the cows that seemed oblivious of the sheer drop beside the path as they trotted by.
At the Devil’s Pulpit a popular vantage point for walkers, conservation work supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund is being carried out to upgrade and strengthen the paths. Legend states the devil stood on a pinnacle of rock at the pulpit and called to the monks toiling in the fields below to come and join him and certainly the view down towards Tintern Abbey is breathtaking. Behind the Devil’s Pulpit lie the remains of an old quarry that supplied the original stone for the base of the pathway with its intriguing old yew tree growing out of a pinnacle of limestone rock. Following the muddy track through Caswell Wood below the badger’s sets, the trees still remain green with very few autumnal tints and crossing their first stile and following a steep track downhill they came to a meadow.
A perfect place to enjoy lunch in sunshine with brilliant views down to Brockweir and across the river to Llandogo, Botany Bay and Bargain Wood, where the long distance Wye Valley Walk passes through and the houses tucked into the hillside below St Briavels. Resuming, the group went downhill and following a rough wet track reached Gregory Farm where the Horse and Ponies Protection Association stables is situated.
HAPPA is a charitable organisation set up in 1937 to fight against horses being transported abroad for slaughter and which continues to campaign for legislation to prevent abuse and neglect being carried out. As well as rescuing horses, ponies and donkeys which have been neglected, abandoned or abused the horses are restored back to health before being placed in private homes and the group relies on charity to help support their work.
Entering the pretty village of Brockweir which was a hamlet during the 13th century, the group paused in front of the 15th century Malt House and the Manor House which dates back to 1600. The Malt House used to be a pottery but originally the monks of Tintern Abbey utilised it as a brew house. Brockweir was originally a centre for ship building and in 1824 thirteen ships were launched from there. There were a great many public houses to cater for the population of workers and drunkenness and bad behaviour was the normal as there was no church. However in 1833, the Moravian Church was built beside the Wye and that helped to calm the situation a little.
In 1828/9 the Turnpike Road was built which began to open up the otherwise land-locked valley to tourism but Brockweir was still only accessible by boat.
In 1876 the Wye Valley Railway was built, the line running from Monmouth Troy via Wyesham Halt, Redbrook-on-Wye, Whitebrook Halt, St Briavels, Llandogo and Brockweir Halt (the renamed Tintern Station in 1912) and after running through a 1190-yard tunnel at Tintern the line continued vial Netherhope Halt to Tidenham where it joined the Gloucester to Newport line at Wye Valley Junction.
In 1906 an iron foot and road bridge was built across the Wye from Brockweir joining England to Wales and an engraved slate tablet commemorating the 100th anniversary in 2006 is prominent on the Brockweir side of the bridge.
Tourism began to be promoted in the area and Tintern (or Brockweir) station was the second largest station apart from Monmouth Troy because the railway company wanted to encourage passengers and tourists to visit the remains of Tintern Abbey. The group followed the old railway line back to what is now called Tintern Old Station which was alive with people enjoying afternoon tea and cakes in the warm sunshine.
When the station was built it contained a signal box, sidings, a goods shed, station building with a station master’s house, three platforms (two of which were island platforms) and a double track so trains could pass one another as well as a semaphore signalling system. The station building has been turned into a tea room, the signal box houses exhibitions of local artists and craft persons and the railway carriages contain stunning photographs and posters as well as tourist information about the area.
The group then paid a visit to the Circle of Legends which contains six life-sized sculptures carved mostly from oak, but one from sweet chestnut by Neil Gow and John Hobbs and six trails have been devised where you can trace the history of the characters. Arthur, derived from Arthwr the title given to the great war leader, Eleanor of Provence who bore nine children for King Henry 111, Geoffrey an early historian who wrote a ‘History of the King’s of Britain’ and introduced the Arthurian legend, King Offa the Saxon leader, Hafren or Sabrina the Welsh Goddess of the River Severn and Tewdrig the 6th century king of Gwent who became a hermit at Tintern before returning to fight and beat the Saxon’s at the battle of Pont-y-Saeson in the Angiddy valley.
The group re-joined the boggy riverside track to St Michael’s Church which dates back to 765AD although it was rebuilt in the Middle Ages. When the Romans came to Wales over 2,000 years ago they established a ford at Tintern on the march towards forts situated at Caerwent, Usk and Caerleon. At low tide opposite the church you can still see the remains of a cobbled causeway that leads across the river to Fryer’s Wharf and continues uphill past Parva Hill vineyard which was most likely first planted by the Romans. The church was open so some of the group indulged themselves by taking a peep inside and the side door facing the river was surrounded by sandbags after all the recent rainfall as Tintern is subject to much flooding when the river rises.
Following this a short stretch of road-walking saw the group return through Tintern village to Tintern Abbey before the journey home after what had been an interesting and enjoyable walk through history.
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