Tintern Abbey
=How to get there.=–Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.
=Nearest Station.=–Tintern.
=Distance from London.=–145-1/2 miles.
=Average Time.=–Varies between 4-3/4 to 6 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=–Single 24s. 6d. 15s. 4d. 12s. 2-1/2d.
Return 42s. 9d. 26s. 10d. 24s. 5d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=–"Beaufort Arms Hotel,” “Royal
George Hotel,” “Rose and Crown Hotel,” at Chepstow, 5-1/2 miles
distant by road.
Tintern Abbey is situated in a level valley, surrounded on all sides by
high green pastures and wooded hills, at the bottom of which the
glorious river Wye glides in its circuitous course to the sea. The abbey
is said to share with Melrose the distinction of being the most
picturesque and beautiful ecclesiastical ruin in Great Britain. When the
sun is setting, or better still, under the mystic light of the harvest
moon, the picture formed by the roofless abbey in its perfect setting,
needs a Wordsworth to do it justice.
An abbey for Cistercian monks was established on this spot in 1131 by
Walter Fitz-Richard de Clare and dedicated to St. Mary. None of this
building remains, as the whole edifice was rebuilt about 1260. The chief
part of the ruins, now standing, is the church, though in 1847, when
excavations were being carried on in an adjoining orchard, the remains
of the Hospitium were discovered. This was an oblong building, supported
on pillars, in which it was the custom for the monks to entertain
strangers or travellers of their order. In the middle of the nave are
the four arches which supported the tower, now mere skeletons, yet
sufficiently preserved to show their form. The walls are nearly
complete, and many of the columns still stand, as well as the bases of
those whioh have fallen. All the pavement has disappeared, and the whole
of the former floor is reduced to one level, now carpeted with turf.
The church is cruciform in plan and measures 228 feet from east to west.
The remains of the dormitory, chapter-house, cloisters, and the
refectory, which still has its lectern for the use of the reader during
meals, are to be found on the north side of the church. Walking on the
walls is forbidden. The vast extent of the ruins of the Hospitium
recalls the fact that Tintern Abbey was for a long period distinguished
for its luxurious style of living and its great hospitality.
When in the neighbourhood of Tintern one should visit Monmouth for its
remarkable old bridge with its interesting gatehouse.
[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd.
TINTERN ABBEY.
The beautiful river Wye is seen flowing just beyond the ruins.]
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Preface •
Ham House and Petersham •
Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle) •
Harrow •
Holwood House, Keston •
Chigwell, Essex •
Waltham Abbey and Cross •
Downe •
Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts •
Epping Forest •
Hampton Court •
Rye House, Broxbourne •
Hatfield House, Herts •
Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta •
The Oldest Brass in England •
St. Albans •
Stoke Poges Church, Bucks •
Windsor •
Jordans and William Penn •
Knole House and Sevenoaks •
Greenstead Church •
Chalfont St. Giles •
Westerham •
Guildford, Surrey •
Gad’s Hill •
Ightham Mote, Kent •
Penshurst •
St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion •
Rochester Cathedral •
Tunbridge Wells •
The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey •
Eversley •
Farnham, Surrey •
Hindhead, Surrey •
Shottermill •
Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex •
Chawton the Home of Jane Austen •
Selborne •
Elstow •
Lewes, Sussex •
Bodiam Castle, Sussex •
Colchester, Essex •
Layer Marney •
Battle Abbey •
Cambridge •
Arundel Castle •
Olney, Bucks •
Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great •
Canterbury and Its Cathedral •
Reculvers •
Oxford •
Midhurst •
Pevensey Castle •
Savernake Forest •
Ely Cathedral •
St. Ives, Huntingdonshire •
Winchelsea and Rye •
Blenheim Palace •
Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland •
Peterborough •
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Helmingham Hall •
Stonehenge, Wiltshire •
Netley Abbey •
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New Forest, Hampshire •
Osborne House •
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Lutterworth •
Compton Wynyates •
Kenilworth Castle •
Belvoir Castle •
Bath •
Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers •
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Norfolk Broads •
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Lichfield •
Sherborne and Its Abbey Church •
Newark •
Wells and Its Cathedral •
Stratford-On-Avon •
Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk •
Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire •
Corfe Castle •
Lincoln and Its Cathedral •
Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson •
Glastonbury Abbey •
Walsingham, Norfolk •
Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset •
Newstead Abbey •
The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances •
Tintern Abbey •
Chesterfield, Derbyshire •
Dukeries •
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire •
The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor •
Raglan Castle •
Dovedale •
Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire •
Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop •
Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire •
Ludlow and Its Castle •
Shrewsbury •
Buxton and the Peak District •
Tewkesbury •
Exeter and Its Cathedral •
Market Drayton, Salop •
Chester •
Exmoor •
Knutsford •
Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset •
Cleeve Abbey, Somerset •
Hawarden •
York Minster •
Coxwold, Yorkshire •
Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey •
Knaresborough, Dripping Well •
Fountains Abbey •
Ripon Cathedral •
Dartmoor •
Haworth •
Rievaulx Abbey •
Brixham, Devon •
Conway Castle •
The Doone Valley, Exmoor •
Llandovery, South Wales •
Dartmouth, Devon •
Richmond, Yorkshire •
Tintagel •
Whitby •
Carnarvon Castle •
Plymouth •
Durham and Its Cathedral •
Raby Castle, Durham •
Snowdon •
Harlech Castle •
Grasmere and Rydal Mount •
The Lake District •
St. Davids Cathedral •
Furness Abbey, Lancashire •
Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow •
The Isle of Man •
Brantwood •
Fowey •
Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall •
The Lake District •
Keswick •
Alnwick Castle •
Lanercost Priory, Cumberland •
Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.] •
St. Ives, Cornwall •
Bamborough Castle, Northumberland
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