THE OLD PRIORY
|
The
Old Priory and St Illtyd's Church, with its
leaning spire, are among the oldest and most
interesting buildings on Caldey. The Priory was
home to the Benedictine monks who lived on Caldey
in medieval times. It is built in an elevated
position, close to the island's natural water
source, beside the present day farmyard. It is
constructed from limestone and sandstone
indigenous to the island. The monastic buildings
have been unoccupied since the Dissolution of the
Monasteries, but St Illtyd's church is still a
consecrated Roman Catholic church.
|
 |
The oldest part of
the building is probably the Prior's Tower,
(below left), thought to have been built as a
fortified house by Robert Fitzmartin, to whom
Caldey was given by Henry I.
|
|
Fitzmartin gave the
island to his mother, Giva, who donated it in
turn to the Norman Benedictine monks of St
Dogmael's, North Pembs, originally from Tiron in
France. Caldey became a cell of St Dogmael's and
remained so until Henry VIII dissolved it in
1536.
|
|
Fitzmartin's
house was extended and modified by the
monks between the 13th and 15th
Centuries, and the Priory buildings
gradually took on their present shape.
The monks' original vaulted stone chapel
(below) now forms the sanctuary of the
larger church, with the spire erected in
the 14th century.
|
|
 |
|
|
The Priory is believed
to occupy the site of the original 6th century
Celtic monastery. The Caldey Stone (right) was
excavated in the grounds and is now displayed in
the church. The stone is inscribed in the Celtic Ogham
script and also in Latin.
|
|
St Illtyd's
Church, with its ancient stone walls and
pebble floor worn smooth by time and
generations of worshippers, is imbued
with a unique atmosphere of peace and
prayerful serenity.
|
|
 
Visitors are
welcome to explore the church and
external areas of the Priory. While much
of the history and evolution of the
Priory buildings and the monks who lived
in them is unknown, many visitors
experience a sense that the faith and
quiet prayerfulness of those early monks
lives on in this special place.
|
|
| |