Strata Florida Abbey ( Abaty Ystrad Fflur)

Strata Florida Abbey ( Abaty Ystrad Fflur) is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron.

Shortly after the Norman invasion of Wales, a monastery, from which the present Abbey takes its name, was fo...unded on the banks of the Afon Fflura, a short distance from the present site, by a group of Cistercian monks from Whitland Abbey

Benedictine houses were usually established near Norman castles, but because they were seen as instruments of conquest, they failed to make any real impression on the local Welsh population. The Cistercians, in contrast, sought out solitude in the mountains and moorlands. Their austere discipline and emphasis on pastoral farming fitted in well with the local Welsh stock-rearing economy.

The present Abbey was founded around 1164 A.D, by the Lord Rhys, who because of pressure from the Normans, transferred his patronage from St Davids to Strata Florida and it is why many of his descendants were buried there.

By 1184 Strata Florida had increased in status and authority and its influence was felt throughout Wales. It is believed that it is at Strata Florida the most important primary historical source for early Welsh history, the Brut y Tywysogion was compiled.

Around 1238, Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), held a council at Strata Florida, at which he made the other Welsh Princes swear that they would acknowledge his son Dafydd as his rightful successor.

In 1401, Strata Florida Abbey was the military base of king Henry IV and his son, later to become Henry V, during the early years of the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr.

Strata Florida was dissolved in the 1540s during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monastries

Strata Florida was left to deteriorate until the arrival of the railways in the late 19th century, when it became more accessible as a place of pilgrimage..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strata_Florida_Abbey