Introduction
Caldey Priory has part of the structure of a medieval priory, including a pond. The medieval layout is overlain by a 19th-century compartmented garden. This layout is associated with a mansion on the priory site built in 1800 by Thomas Kynaston.
Caldey Priory is a Grade I-listed priory on Caldey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire.
The priory buildings are built from rubble stone, with slate roofs, and are grouped around a small courtyard. On the north side was a domestic range that has not survived. There is a gatehouse on the western side and a two-storey dormitory with a tower on the eastern side. The church stands on the south side, and consists of nave, chancel and west tower with a spire.
The Priory was home to the Benedictine monks who lived on Caldey in medieval times and is built in an elevated position, close to the island's natural water source. The Priory 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.
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
- Features & Designations
Designations
CADW Register of Landscapes Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales
- Reference: PGW(Dy)60(PEM)
- Grade: II
CADW Register of Listed Buildings in Wales
- Reference: Caldey Priory
- Grade: I
Features
- Monastery (featured building)
- Description: The monastery was built by 1913, replacing both an earlier religious establishment and a private house on the site.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Planting
- Description: Small walled garden of medieval date.
- Pond
- Description: There is a series of ponds associated with the medieval priory.
- Ha-ha
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Sundial
- Description: Fallen sundial.
- Folly
- Description: Small circular folly.
- Latest Date:
- Pool
- Description: Fountain pool.
- Key Information
Type
Garden
Purpose
Ornamental
Principal Building
Domestic / Residential
Survival
Part: standing remains
Hectares
0.1
Open to the public
Yes
- References
References
- CADW, {Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire} (Cardiff: CADW, 2002) 168 Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire
- Colt Hoare, R., {Caldey Priory, two drawings} (1800) Caldey Priory, two drawings
- Owen, G. {The description of Pembrokeshire} (Llandysul: Gomer, 1994) The description of Pembrokeshire