In another poem, which is in MS., the bard, having as usual expatiated upon his patron's munificence, gives us a slight view of the furniture and devotional exercises of the abbey. "The resort of gold is the monastery; And its choir surpasses that of Sarum:-1 Of foliages, and images, And numerous voices." From the following stanza it would appear as if David had made some addition to the buildings; "Thou hast reared a fabric for God the proprietor, Which a king rich in wine bought; Like or famous St. Paul's." The bard then goes on to mention the "exquisite fretted roof" of the abbot's house- the "four courses prepared by his cook," and the liquor which made it like a "carnival," and concludes by stating his belief that such a beloved man was destined to enjoy a long life. There was another abbot of the name of John, or as he was called by his countrymen, Sion ab Davydd, who probably succeeded David at Valle Crucis. His praise is cele brated by Tudur Aled, a Dominican friar, and a bard, who flourished from 1480 to 1520, in an awdl of considerable length, which, as appears from an incidental allusion it contains to the reigning pontiff, must have been written previous to 1484, the year in which Sixtus died. The bard describes him as of "the lineage of Rhun ab Einion," a chieftain, who lived about the close of the fifth century; also as "a canonical prophet of the tribe of Davydd Llwyd," who was probably one of his immediate ancestors. He compares him to St. Trillo at the altar, "the altar which supports the sacrifices of the abbot:"-declares that he was "full of the gifts of St. Dionysius," "a golden pope," and hopes that he would succeed to the "chair of Sixtus." He reminds him of "the oil of myrrh and frankincense from heaven" which was upon him since his novitiate that he was once a monk, then an abbot, and should be a bishop, and ultimately a pope. But the main burden of the poem is the celebration of his gene2 Sixtus IV. was pope between 1471 and 1484. 1 Salisbury. rous entertainments. hospitality." Truly, these abbots were "given to In the pedigree of Lloyd of Gloster1 there occurs about this date a "John Lloyd, abbot of Valle Crucis in Denbighshire." There are reasons for supposing that he is the same person with the one just mentioned:-in the first place he is described as the son of "David Lloyd," and next as descended from Sandde Hardd, whose grandson, Howel, married into the family of Tudor Trevor, in accordance with the expression in the poem, -"Rhun and Sandde, ancestors of Tudur." Again allusion is made by the bard to " Ynyr," and John Lloyd is shown to be the eighth in descent from Ynyr of Yale." 66 The abbot of Valle Crucis was one of those who were commissioned by Henry VII. to trace his Welsh pedigree. He and Dr. Owen Pool, canon of Hereford, were appointed overseers on that occasion.2 We find that David ab Iorwerth, who was consecrated bishop of St. Asaph A.D. 1500, had previously been abbot of Valle Crucis. It is difficult to say whether this was the same person with him whom Gutto'r Glyn and Guttyn Owain so extravagantly complimented. The name would imply as much, though the dates of the poems are rather too early. David ab Iorwerth is supposed to have resided at the abbey after he became bishop, on account of the ruinous state of the episcopal palace. He died in 1503, and was probably buried at the abbey.3 He was succeeded in the see by David ab Owen or Evan, who, according to Richardson, had been at one time abbot of Valle Crucis, others say of Strata Marcella, or Ystrad Marchell.* But as this latter place was occasionally termed Vall. Crucis Abbey, the subject of the present article must surrender its claims to him. In an old MS. in the possession of Angharad Llwyd, we learn that Ieva ab Meredydd of Bod Idris was buried at Valle Crucis, and that his tombstone was, at the dissolution, removed to Bryn Eglwys, the burial place of Mr. Thomas Yale.5 1 See Burke's Landed Gentry, sub voce. Appendix. son, p. 471. 2 Wynne's Hist. of Wales, 3 Willis's St. Asaph. Edit. Edwards, vol. i. p. 89. 4 Isaac5 See Gwyliedydd, vol. iv. p. 215. The last person who presided over the establishment was John Herne, probably an Englishman. The foregoing are all the persons who are known to have been in any way connected with the abbey during its state of integrity; though the names of two or three other persons may be partly traced on broken monumental slabs; as, the stones before spoken of, which are used as the lintel of a chimney-piece in one of the bedchambers of the farm house, and placed together so as to present the appearance of a single tombstone broken into two; and Pennant accordingly conceived the words on them to form part of one and the same inscription. On more closely examining these stones, it appears that the scroll patterns are of totally dif ferent design and workmanship, not at all agreeing together: the portion on the eastern side of the fireplace being of ruder execution than that on the west, and its letters of an earlier date, though probably both may be included within the limits of the thirteenth century. The inscriptions, too, are written in a different order, the easternmost stone having the tops of the letters turned towards the scroll work; whereas the letters on the other turn their bases to the ornamental portion of the stone. On the former only two words remain : on the latter, HIC IACE.. ... M ARVRET I.... On one of the broken tombstones lying loose outside the eastern end of the choir, is a fragment of a lion passant, regardant sinister, and underneath, between his legs, a rose, which may indicate it to have belonged to some one of the tribe of Sandde Hardd, before mentioned; but it is doubtful whether it be a strictly heraldic bearing. On the others we find the following mutilated inscriptions, in characters of the thirteenth century: 1 Sandde bore "Vert, semee, with broomslips, or, over all a Lion rampant, or." Iorwerth Vychan, fourth in descent from him, bore “Sa. three Roses arg. leaved, vert.' When the human bones were dug up some time since at the south eastern corner of the church, as is mentioned above, there was discovered a wedge-like stone, having carved on its front a hand holding a vine or olive branch bearing fruit. This stone is now at Plas Newydd, (formerly the seat of Lady E. Butler and Miss Ponsonby,) near Llangollen. Valle Crucis was dissolved in 1535, and is said to have been the first of the Welsh monasteries that underwent that fate. Its revenues at that time were, according to Dugdale, £188. 8s. Od., that is, temporalities £47. Os. 4d., spiritualities £141. 7s. 8d. per annum; but Speed reckons them at £214. 3s. 5d. John Herne, the abbot, received an annuity of £23 upon his surrender. This and £10. 13s. 4d. in annuities to some surviving monks, were the only charges remaining in 1553.1 The following abstract from a Roll, 32d Henry VIII., preserved in the Augmentation Office, shows the nature and value of the several kinds of property which had once belonged to the abbey, but which was then in the hands of the king: Vale of the Cross-site of the Monastery... Wrexham Land in the township of of...... Halton-Land in the township of.. Chirk Rectorial tithes Wrexham Rectorial tithes Rhiwabon-Rectorial tithes Llangollen-Rectorial tithes.. ...... Bringhest (qy. Bryneglwys?) - Chapel... £. s. d. 8 17 0 23 11 0 14 8 10 4 11 3 10 0 0 5 0 0 29 16 8 20 68 7 13 4 12 2 4 Llansantffraid-Chapel. Llandysilio- - Chapel ... Chapel...... 7 11 Chirk-Domain 5 0 4000 1 Willis's Abbeys, ii. 912. 2 See Dugdale's Monast. Edit. Ellis. Num. ii. It appears that the abbey was ransacked and ruined soon after its dissolution. Camden, in his Britannia, (A.D. 1586,) speaks of it as being "wholly decaied." Simpson in his account of Llangollen, (edit. 1837,) says that in a MS. lent to him it was stated, "Dissolved by statute of Henry VIII. 1561"; but this is evidently erroneous, inasmuch as the tyrant had gone to his last account in 1547. Pennant, in mentioning Valle Crucis, says, "This place remained in the Crown until the 9th of James I., who granted it to Edward Wotton, afterwards created Lord Wotton. In 1654 we find it in the possession of a Lady Margaret Wotton, a recusant; and that it was put under sequestration, by orders of the commissioners from the ruling powers." We have been informed that after this sequestration from Lady Margaret Wotton, mentioned by Pennant, the property was alienated to the Wynnstay family, and that Cromwell subsequently put it under sequestration to Edward Davies, the Cneiviwr Glâs of Eglwyseg. It was ultimately purchased by John Trevor, Esq., of Trevor, a descendant of whom, his heiress at law, married Thomas Lloyd, Esq., of Glanarvon, in the county of Montgomery, and had issue a daughter, Mary Lloyd, who married John Lloyd, Esq., of Pentrehobin, in the county of Flint. Their daughter, Margaret Lloyd, married Rice Thomas, Esq., of Coedhelen, in the county of Caernarvon, and left issue five daughters, who are the present inheritors of the property, as will be seen by the following account, for which we are indebted to the kindness of the gentleman who married the eldest. "The present inheritors of the abbey stand thus: "1. Margaret, who married Thomas Trevor Mather, Esq., of Pentrehobin, com. Flint. "2. Jane, of Coedhelen, com. Caernarvon. "3. Anne Browning Edwards, widow of John Browning Edwards, Esq., Coedhelen, com. Caern. "4. Trevor, Coedhelen, com. Caern. "5. Pennant, who married William Iremonger, Esq. of Wherwell Priory, com. Hant." At the present time, due attention is paid towards preventing any farther dilapidations of the venerable remains. The abbot's house is tenanted by a farmer; but a lady 1 Pennant, vol. i. p. 371. 2 See an account of this singular character in Pennant's Tour. |