Table of Contents

Part I: Setting The Scene The Cistercians and their settlement of Wales; Church building in Wales before the Cistercians; Abbey sites and temporary buildings Part II: The Abbey Churches The earliest stone churches; The arrival of the 'Bernardine' plan; The transition to regional Gothic forms; The Welsh Cistercian church transformed Part III: The Monastic Buildings The claustral layout; Cloisters and cloister arcades; The chapter house; The monks' refectory; Infirmary provision and the abbot's accommodation Part IV: Catalogue Of Cistercian Sites In Wales And The Borders Introduction; Aberconwy Abbey; Basingwerk Abbey; Cwmhir Abbey; Cymer Abbey; Dore Abbey; Grace Dieu Abbey; Llantarnam Abbey; Maenan Abbey; Margam Abbey; Neath Abbey; Strata Florida Abbey; Strata Marcella Abbey; Tintern Abbey; Valle Crucis Abbey; Whitland Abbey.

About the Author

David Robinson held a research fellowship at the University of Wales (1981-83), before joining the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust as a survey officer. In 1985 he began work for CADW: Welsh Historic Monuments and in 1999 he moved to English Heritage to work as an architectural historian. He is now head of historic properties research within the Properties Presentation Department. He has published a total of more than sixty papers, books, and reviews.

Reviews

A notable advance in a truly important aspect of the medieval inheritance. The volume will be greatly respected by its readers and cherished by those who possess it.'--J. Beverley Smith "Studia Celtica, 2008"

Most impressive, ...are the elegant reconstructions which engage the reader immediately and imaginatively with the authors narrative...; they form an impressive contribution to research in their own right.'--Deirdre O'Sullivan "Medieval Archaeology, 2007"

The amount of information assembled, the quality of the discussion and the breadth of vision applied to the subject is truly impressive. Both the authors and the publishers are to be congratulated on a major contribution to our appreciation of the Cistercians in Wales'--Peter Webster "Archaeologia Cambrensis, 2007"