Caldey Island Old Priory

Caldey is one of the earliest monasteries founded in Wales. The Welsh name for the island is Ynys Pyr, which is alegedly derived from a founding abbot by the name of Pyro.

The history of this Celtic settlement is lost to us, but it is reasonable to suppose that the island was exposed to the Norse raids that commonly took place around the Welsh coast in the 10th Century. The assumption is generally made that by the time of the Norman invasion the monastery was, at best, a shadow of its former self.

In 1113 Henry I granted the island to Robert FitzMartin, founder of St Dogmael's Abbey. It is thought that Robert's father, Martin of Tiron, was the main instigator in bringing monks from Tiron to St Dogmael's. It is surprising, therefore, to find that Robert passed the gift of Caldey onto his father's widow, Geva. She, in turn, presented the island to St Dogmael's which was well established by 1120. By 1131 a daughter house had been established on the island. Although established, Gerald of Wales leads us to believe that by the end of the 12th century there may have been just a solitary monk at Caldey. If conditions at the mother house are anythinf to go by then Caldey did not prosper in later years. By 1535 the annual income was assessed at no more than £5 and only one monk was in residence. The priory was dissolved in 1536.

The buildings of the Caldey Priory represents a most important survival from the medieval period in Wales since it seems to preserve something of the spirit of the Celtic era of monasticism. Most of the buildings are in a good state of preservation and are of the Tiron period but the tiny size of the priory echoes the similarities with the priories found on other islands around Wales. It may even be that the buildings we see today represent a reworking of the original conventual layout of the pre-Norman period.

The church in the priory consisted of a presbytery with a sanctuary at the east end, At the west end a small tower is srmounted by a crude but picturesque spire. The conventual buildings surrounded a very small cloister on the north side of the church. The main entrance was directly into this cloister at the south-west corner. The west wing consisted of the gatehouse with a guest room about it. The east wing consisted of the monks' dormitory over a kitchen and warming room. A short passage led directly from the warming room into the refectory which closed the north side of the cloister. The north-east corner of the buildings was occupied by the Prior's Tower - a substantial embattled building of which the first floor comprised the prior's lodging.

Apart from the refectory and a small portion of the west wing all these buildings stand todat. They make a particularly picturesque grouping whilst the tiny church evokes a special atmosphere with its stone floor and primitive structure. Apart from the church the interiors of the buildings are not open to the public.