Nave
The nave /ˈneɪv/ is the central aisle of a basilica church, or the main body of a church between its western wall and its chancel. It is the zone of a church accessible by the laity, the nave extends from the entry — which may have a separate vestibule — to the chancel and may be flanked by lower side-aisles separated from the nave by an arcade. If the aisles are high and of a width comparable to the central nave and it provides the central approach to the high altar. The term nave is from medieval Latin navis, a ship was an early Christian symbol. The term may have suggested by the keel shape of the vaulting of a church. The earliest churches were built when builders were familiar with the form of the Roman basilica and it had a wide central area, with aisles separated by columns, and with windows near the ceiling. Old St. Peters Basilica in Rome is a church which had this form. It was built in the 4th century on the orders of Roman emperor Constantine I, the nave, the main body of the building, is the section set apart for the laity, while the chancel is reserved for the clergy.
In medieval churches the nave was separated from the chancel by the rood screen, medieval naves were divided into bays, the repetition of form giving an effect of great length, and the vertical element of the nave was emphasized. During the Renaissance, in place of dramatic effects there were more balanced proportions, longest nave in Denmark, Aarhus Cathedral,93 metres. Longest nave in England, St Albans Cathedral, St Albans,84 metres, longest nave in Ireland, St Patricks Cathedral, Dublin,91 metres. Longest nave in France, Bourges Cathedral,91 metres, including choir where a crossing would be if there were transepts, longest nave in Germany, Cologne cathedral,58 metres, including two bays between the towers. Longest nave in Italy, St Peters Basilica in Rome,91 metres, longest nave in Spain, Seville,60 metres, in five bays. Longest nave in the United States, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City, highest vaulted nave, Beauvais Cathedral, France,48 metres high but only one bay of the nave was actually built but choir and transepts were completed to the same height.
Highest completed nave, Rome, St. Peters, Italy,46 metres high, with architectural discussion and groundplans Cathedral architecture Cathedral diagram List of highest church naves
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the fertile valley of the River Severn. The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other towns include Cheltenham, Stroud. Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire originally included Bristol, a small town. The local rural community moved to the city, and Bristols population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became a county in its own right, separate from Gloucestershire and it became part of the administrative County of Avon from 1974 to 1996. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, the north of Bristol became a unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire and is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. The official former postal county abbreviation was Glos, rather than the frequently used but erroneous Gloucs. or Glouc. In July 2007, Gloucestershire suffered the worst flooding in recorded British history, the RAF conducted the largest peace time domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood affected areas.
The damage was estimated at over £2 billion, the county recovered rapidly from the disaster, investing in attracting tourists to visit the many sites and diverse range of shops in the area. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Gloucestershire has mainly comprehensive schools with seven schools, two are in Stroud, one in Cheltenham and four in Gloucester. There are 42 state secondary schools, not including sixth form colleges, all but about two schools in each district have a sixth form, but the Forest of Dean only has two schools with sixth forms. All schools in South Gloucestershire have sixth forms, each has campuses at multiple locations throughout the county. Most of the old market towns have parish churches, at Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain.
These are, adjudged to be of English workmanship, other notable buildings include Calcot Barn in Calcot, a relic of Kingswood Abbey. Thornbury Castle is a Tudor country house, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, near Cheltenham is the 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve, the mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey
The Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1135 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a succession crisis precipitated by the death of William Adelin. Stephens early reign was marked by fighting with English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders. Following a major rebellion in the south-west of England, Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother, in 1141 Stephen was captured following the Battle of Lincoln, causing a collapse in his authority over most of the country. Stephen almost seized Matilda in 1142 during the siege of Oxford, the war dragged on for many more years. Empress Matildas husband, Geoffrey V of Anjou, conquered Normandy, rebel barons began to acquire ever greater power in northern England and in East Anglia, with widespread devastation in the regions of major fighting. In 1148 the Empress returned to Normandy, leaving the campaigning in England to her young son, Stephen unsuccessfully attempted to have his own son, recognised by the Church as the next king of England.
By the early 1150s the barons and the Church mostly wanted a long-term peace, when Henry FitzEmpress re-invaded England in 1153, neither factions forces were keen to fight. After limited campaigning and the siege of Wallingford and Henry agreed a negotiated peace, Stephen died the next year and Henry ascended the throne as Henry II, the first Angevin king of England, beginning a long period of reconstruction. The origins of the Anarchy lay in a crisis involving England. In the 11th and 12th centuries, north-west France was controlled by a number of dukes and counts, frequently in conflict with one another for valuable territory. In 1066 one of men, Duke William II of Normandy, mounted an invasion to conquer the rich Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England, pushing on into south Wales. The division and control of lands after Williams death proved problematic. Henry intended for his lands to be inherited by his legitimate son. In 1120, the landscape changed dramatically when the White Ship sank en route from Barfleur in Normandy to England, around three hundred passengers died, including Adelin.
With Adelin dead, the inheritance to the English throne was thrown into doubt, rules of succession in western Europe at the time were uncertain, in some parts of France, male primogeniture, in which the eldest son would inherit a title, was becoming more popular. The problem was complicated by the sequence of unstable Anglo-Norman successions over the previous sixty years, there had been no peaceful. With William Adelin dead, Henry had only one legitimate child, Matilda
Henry II of England
Henry was the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England. He became actively involved by the age of 14 in his mothers efforts to claim the throne of England, occupied by Stephen of Blois and he inherited Anjou in 1151 and shortly afterwards married Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Louis VII of France had recently been annulled. Stephen agreed to a treaty after Henrys military expedition to England in 1153. Henry was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his royal grandfather, Henrys desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Beckets murder in 1170, Henry soon came into conflict with Louis VII and the two rulers fought what has been termed a cold war over several decades. By 1172, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the half of Ireland and the western half of France.
Henry and Eleanor had eight children, as they grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henrys heir apparent, Young Henry, rebelled in protest, he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother, Scotland and Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels. The Great Revolt was only defeated by Henrys vigorous military action and talented local commanders, many of them new men appointed for their loyalty, Young Henry and Geoffrey revolted again in 1183, resulting in Young Henrys death. The Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for his youngest son John, Philip successfully played on Richards fears that Henry would make John king, and a final rebellion broke out in 1189. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from an ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon in Anjou. Henrys empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John, many of the changes Henry introduced during his long rule, had long-term consequences.
Historical interpretations of Henrys reign have changed considerably over time, in the 18th century, scholars argued that Henry was a driving force in the creation of a genuinely English monarchy and, ultimately, a unified Britain. Late-20th-century historians have combined British and French historical accounts of Henry, Henry was born in France at Le Mans on 5 March 1133 as the eldest child of the Empress Matilda and her second husband, Geoffrey the Fair, Count of Anjou. In theory, the county answered to the French king, but royal power over Anjou weakened during the 11th century, Henrys mother, firstly married to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, was the eldest daughter of Henry I, King of England and Duke of Normandy. She was born into a ruling class of Normans, who traditionally owned extensive estates in both England and Normandy. Geoffrey took advantage of the confusion to attack the Duchy of Normandy but played no role in the English conflict, leaving this to Matilda and her half-brother.
The war, termed the Anarchy by Victorian historians, dragged on, Henry probably spent some of his earliest years in his mothers household, and accompanied Matilda to Normandy in the late 1130s
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton, the county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Commonly used abbreviations for the county are Warks or Warwicks, the county is divided into five districts of North Warwickshire and Bedworth, Rugby and Stratford-on-Avon. The current county boundaries were set in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, the historic county boundaries included Coventry and Solihull, as well as much of Birmingham. The northern tip of the county is only 3 miles from the Derbyshire border, an average-sized English county covering an area of almost 2,000 km2, it runs some 60 miles north to south. Equivalently it extends as far north as Shrewsbury in Shropshire and as far south as Banbury in north Oxfordshire, the majority of Warwickshires population live in the north and centre of the county. The market towns of northern and eastern Warwickshire were industrialised in the 19th century, and include Atherstone, Nuneaton, of these, Atherstone has retained most of its original character.
Major industries included coal mining, textiles and cement production, of the northern and eastern towns, only Nuneaton and Rugby are well-known outside of Warwickshire. The south of the county is rural and sparsely populated. The only town in the south of Warwickshire is Shipston-on-Stour, the highest point in the county, at 261 m, is Ebrington Hill, again on the border with Gloucestershire, grid reference SP187426 at the countys southwest extremity. There are no cities in Warwickshire since both Coventry and Birmingham were incorporated into the West Midlands county in 1974 and are now metropolitan authorities in themselves, the largest towns in Warwickshire in 2011 were, Rugby, Leamington Spa, Warwick and Kenilworth. Much of western Warwickshire, including that area now forming part of Coventry, thus the names of a number of places in the central-western part of Warwickshire end with the phrase -in-Arden, such as Henley-in-Arden, Hampton-in-Arden and Tanworth-in-Arden. The remaining area, not part of the forest, was called the Felden – from fielden, areas historically part of Warwickshire include Coventry, Sutton Coldfield and some of Birmingham including Aston and Edgbaston.
These became part of the county of West Midlands following local government re-organisation in 1974. Some organisations, such as Warwickshire County Cricket Club, which is based in Edgbaston, in Birmingham, Coventry is effectively in the centre of the Warwickshire area, and still has strong ties with the county. Coventry and Warwickshire are sometimes treated as an area and share a single Chamber of Commerce. Coventry has been a part of Warwickshire for only some of its history, in 1451 Coventry was separated from Warwickshire and made a county corporate in its own right, called the County of the City of Coventry. In 1842 the county of Coventry was abolished and Coventry was remerged with Warwickshire, in recent times, there have been calls to formally re-introduce Coventry into Warwickshire, although nothing has yet come of this
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, with a population of 183,631 in 2011. Historically part of Northamptonshire, it is 75 miles north of London, on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea 30 miles to the north-east, the railway station is an important stop on the East Coast Main Line between London and Edinburgh. The local topography is flat and in some places lies below sea level, human settlement in the area began before the Bronze Age, as can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the current city centre, with evidence of Roman occupation. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the establishment of a monastery, the population grew rapidly following the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, and Peterborough became an industrial centre, particularly noted for its brick manufacture. Following the Second World War, growth was limited until designation as a New Town in the 1960s, housing and population are expanding and a £1 billion regeneration of the city centre and immediately surrounding area is underway.
In common with much of the United Kingdom, industrial employment has fallen, with a significant proportion of new jobs in financial services and distribution. The contrasting form Gildenburgh is found in the 12th century history of the abbey, present-day Peterborough is the latest in a series of settlements which have at one time or other benefited from its site where the Nene leaves large areas of permanently drained land for the fens. Remains of Bronze Age settlement and what is thought to be religious activity can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the city centre. The Romans established a garrison town at Durobrivae on Ermine Street, five miles to the west in Water Newton. Durobrivaes earliest appearance among surviving records is in the Antonine Itinerary of the late 2nd century. There was a large 1st century Roman fort at Longthorpe, designed to house half a legion, or about 3,000 soldiers, it may have been established as early as around AD 44–48. Peterborough was an important area of production in the Roman period, providing Nene Valley Ware that was traded as far away as Cornwall.
His brother Wulfhere murdered his own sons, similarly converted and finished the monastery by way of atonement, the outlaw, wake or exile, set off with supporters from his exile in Flanders and rampaged through the town in 1069 or 1070. The abbey church was rebuilt and greatly enlarged in the 12th century, the Peterborough Chronicle, a version of the Anglo-Saxon one, contains unique information about the history of England after the Norman conquest, written here by monks in the 12th century. This is the only prose history in English between the conquest and the 14th century. The burgesses received their first charter from Abbot Robert – probably Robert of Sutton, the abbey church became one of Henry VIIIs retained, more secular, cathedrals in 1541, having been assessed at the Dissolution as having revenue at £1,972.7. ¾ per annum. When civil war broke out, Peterborough was divided between supporters of King Charles I and supporters of the Long Parliament, the Royalist forces were defeated within a few weeks and retreated to Burghley House, where they were captured and sent to Cambridge.
Housing and sanitary improvements were effected under the provisions of an Act of Parliament passed in 1790, among the privileges claimed by the abbot as early as the 13th century was that of having a prison for felons taken in the Soke of Peterborough
Burh
A burh or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs, some were new constructions, others were situated at the site of Iron Age hillforts or Roman forts and employed materials from the original fortifications. Burhs had a role as commercial and sometimes administrative centres. Their fortifications were used to protect Englands various royal mints and burg were Old English developments of the Proto-Germanic word reconstructed as *burg-s, cognate with the verb *berg-an. They are cognate with German Burg and Scandinavian borg and, in English, developed variously as borough, byrig was the plural form of burh and burg, fortifications. It was the case, to the fort or for the fort. This developed into bury and berry, which were used to describe manor houses, large farms, Burhs were originally built as military defences. According to H. R. Loyn, the burh represented only a stage, though an important one, in the evolution of the medieval English borough.
The boundaries of ancient burhs can often still be traced to modern urban borough limits, the Mercian Register tells of the building of ten burhs by Æthelflæd, some as important as Tamworth and Stafford, others now unidentifiable. Some were based upon pre-existing Roman structures, some newly built, Æthelstan granted these burhs the right to mint coinage and in the tenth and eleventh centuries the firm rule was that no coin was to be struck outside a burh. A tenth-century document, now known as the Burghal Hidage and so named by Frederic William Maitland in 1897, cites thirty burhs in Wessex, at the time, Mercia was ruled by the West Saxon kings. These burhs were all built to defend the region against Viking raids, only eight of the burhs achieved municipal status in the Middle Ages, Bridgnorth, Stafford, Warwick and Maldon. The largest were at Winchester and Warwick, whilst Wallingford and Wareham are the examples, with substantial ditches. It has been estimated that construction of Wallingfords 9,000 feet of bank would have more than 120,000 man hours.
Burh towns usually had regular street layouts, some of which are still preserved, Burhs are widely thought to have been the origins of urban life in England. In most cases, Alfreds rebuilding of a burh did not cause any change of name, the burhs were made in a variety of different ways, depending on materials available locally, and the size of the settlement or area it was intended to defend. Frequently, a burh was built on the site of pre-existing fortifications, the Anglo-Saxons would simply repair old Roman walls in towns such as Winchester, York, Burgh Castle and Dover. At other times, they would build on the site of old Iron Age forts, such as Dover, utilising the old ditches, the Anglo-Saxons did not just use old fortifications
Paul the Apostle
Paul the Apostle, commonly known as Saint Paul, and known by his native name Saul of Tarsus was an apostle who taught the gospel of the Christ to the first century world. He is generally considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, in the mid-30s to the mid-50s AD, he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe. Paul took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences, according to writings in the New Testament, Paul was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. He was struck blind but, after three days, his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah, approximately half of the book of Acts deals with Pauls life and works. Fourteen of the books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul. Seven of the epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic, Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not asserted in the Epistle itself and was already doubted in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to the 16th centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews, but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars. The other six are believed by scholars to have come from followers writing in his name. Other scholars argue that the idea of an author for the disputed epistles raises many problems. Today, Pauls epistles continue to be roots of the theology and pastoral life in the Catholic and Protestant traditions of the West. Augustine of Hippo developed Pauls idea that salvation is based on faith, martin Luthers interpretation of Pauls writings influenced Luthers doctrine of sola fide. The main source for information about Pauls life is the material found in his epistles, the epistles contain little information about Pauls past. The book of Acts recounts more information but leaves several parts of Pauls life out of its narrative, such as his probable, some scholars believe Acts contradicts Pauls epistles on multiple accounts, in particular concerning the frequency of Pauls visits to the church in Jerusalem.
It has been assumed that Sauls name was changed when he converted from Judaism to Christianity. His Jewish name was Saul, perhaps after the biblical King Saul, a fellow Benjamite, according to the Book of Acts, he inherited Roman citizenship from his father. As a Roman citizen, he bore the Latin name of Paul—in biblical Greek, Παῦλος. It was quite usual for the Jews of that time to have two names, one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek. Jesus called him Saul, Saul in the Hebrew tongue in the book of Acts, later, in a vision to Ananias of Damascus, the Lord referred to him as Saul, of Tarsus
Dissolution of the Monasteries
Although the policy was originally envisaged as increasing the regular income of the Crown, much former monastic property was sold off to fund Henrys military campaigns in the 1540s. Professor George W. Bernard argues, The dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s was one of the most revolutionary events in English history. one adult man in fifty was in religious orders. Very few English houses had been founded than the end of the 13th century, there was a Medieval proverb in England that said if the Abbot of Glastonbury married the Abbess of Shaftesbury, the heir would have more land than the King of England. The 200 houses of friars in England and Wales constituted a distinct wave of foundations almost all occurring in the 13th century. Friaries, for the most part, were concentrated in urban areas, the religious changes in England under Henry VIII and Edward VI were of a different nature from those taking place in Germany, France and Geneva. Bernard says there was concern in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries about the condition of the monasteries.
Pastoral care was seen as more important and vital than the monastic focus on contemplation, prayer. English monasticism in the 1530s may have faced grave and urgent problems, Henry wanted to change this, and in November 1529 Parliament passed Acts reforming apparent abuses in the English Church. These Acts sought to demonstrate that establishing royal jurisdiction over the Church would ensure progress in religious reformation where papal authority had been insufficient, the monasteries were next in line. The stories of monastic impropriety and excess that were to be collected by Thomas Cromwells visitors may have been biased and exaggerated. Levels of monastic debt were increasing, and average numbers of professed religious were falling, only a minority of houses could now support the twelve or thirteen professed religious usually regarded as the minimum necessary to maintain the full canonical hours of the Divine Office. Extensive monastic complexes dominated English towns of any size, but most were less than half full, renaissance princes throughout Europe were facing severe financial difficulties due to sharply rising expenditures, especially to pay for armies, fighting ships and fortifications.
Most tended, sooner or later, to resort to plundering monastic wealth, protestant princes would justify this by claiming divine authority, Catholic princes would obtain the agreement and connivance of the Papacy. Monastic wealth, regarded everywhere as excessive and idle, offered a standing temptation for cash-strapped secular, in terms of popular esteem however, the balance tilted the other way. By the time Henry VIII turned his mind to the business of monastery reform, the first case was that of the so-called Alien Priories. As a result of the Norman Conquest some French religious orders held substantial property through their daughter monasteries in England, some of these were merely granges, agricultural estates with a single foreign monk in residence to supervise things, others were rich foundations in their own right. Such estates were a source of income for the Crown in its French wars. If the property with which a house had been endowed by its founder were to be confiscated or surrendered, the house ceased to exist, whether its members continued in the religious life or not
Wessex
Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 until England was unified by Æthelstan in the early 10th century. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Wessex was founded by Cerdic and Cynric, the two main sources for the history of Wessex are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, which sometimes conflict. Wessex became a Christian kingdom after Cenwalh was baptised and was expanded under his rule, cædwalla conquered Sussex and the Isle of Wight. His successor, issued one of the oldest surviving English law codes, the throne subsequently passed to a series of kings with unknown genealogies. During the 8th century, as the hegemony of Mercia grew and it was during this period that the system of shires was established. Under Egbert, Sussex, Kent and Mercia and he obtained the overlordship of the Northumbrian king. However, Mercian independence was restored in 830, during the reign of his successor, Æthelwulf, a Danish army arrived in the Thames estuary, but was decisively defeated.
When Æthelwulfs son, Æthelbald, usurped the throne, the kingdom was divided to avoid war, Æthelwulf was succeeded in turn by his four sons, the youngest being Alfred the Great. Wessex was invaded by the Danes in 871, and Alfred was compelled to pay them to leave and they returned in 876, but were forced to withdraw. In 878 they forced Alfred to flee to the Somerset Levels, during his reign Alfred issued a new law code, gathered scholars to his court and was able to devote funds to building ships, organising an army and establishing a system of burhs. Alfreds son, captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of his sister, Edwards son, Æthelstan, conquered Northumbria in 927, and England became a unified kingdom for the first time. Cnut the Great, who conquered England in 1016, created the wealthy and powerful earldom of Wessex, modern archaeologists use the term Wessex culture for a Middle Bronze Age culture in this area. Although agriculture and hunting were pursued during this period, there is little archaeological evidence of human settlements.
During the Roman occupation numerous country villas with attached farms were established across Wessex, the Romans, or rather the Romano-British, built another major road that integrated Wessex, running eastwards from Exeter through Dorchester to Winchester and Silchester and on to London. The early 4th century CE was a time in Roman Britain. However, following a previous incursion in 360 that was stopped by Roman forces and they devastated many parts of Britain and laid siege to London. The Romans responded promptly, and Count Theodosius had recovered the land up to the Wall by 368, the Romans temporarily ceased to rule Britain on the death of Magnus Maximus in 388. Stilicho attempted to restore Roman authority in the late 390s, two subsequent Roman rulers of Britain, appointed by the remaining troops, were murdered
Tintern
Tintern is a village on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, close to the border with England, about 5 miles north of Chepstow. It is popular with tourists, who visit for the scenery, the village is designated as a Conservation Area. A ford across the navigable and tidal River Wye was in use in Roman times, the name Tintern may derive from the Welsh din + d/teyrn, meaning rocks of the king. Tintern Abbey was founded beside the river by Walter de Clare on 9 May 1131 and it was the second Cistercian foundation in Britain, and its monks came from a daughter house of Cîteaux in France. The present-day remains at Tintern are a mixture of building works covering several centuries, between 1270 and 1301 the abbey was rebuilt, and when it was completed around four hundred monks lived in the complex. The abbeys land was divided into units or granges, and local people provided farm labour and served the abbey. For 400 years, it dominated the economy of its surrounding area, during some of this period the area was contested between the Welsh and English, the closest battle being won in 1404 by Owain Glyndŵr, at Craig y Dorth near Monmouth.
The area had to contend with the Black Death, the abbey remained in operation until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. Though it has suggested that the monks or lay brethren of Tintern Abbey exploited the woodlands and river power for operating iron forges. Industrial activity began in 1568 when the newly established Company of Mineral and it is possible that brass was made, but the works mainly made iron wire. This was used for a variety of industries with essential goods, cards for the woollen industry, pins, knitting needles. The company began letting their works, farmers of the works in the 17th century included Sir Basil Brooke, Thomas Foley, the important ironmaster and his son Thomas Foley. A blast furnace and forges were built in the valley in the 17th century, for 300 years, the numerous works and forges along the Angidy Valley dominated the village and surrounding communities. A branch from the Wye Valley Railway to the Lower Wireworks by way of a bridge was completed in 1875, but too late to stop them going out of business.
In 1878 a new company leased the site to manufacture tinplate although by 1895 it was reported as closed and only ruins, associated ponds. The bridge was used in the early 20th century as a horse-drawn tramway, by the late 18th century, tourism had started in the Wye Valley, with many visitors travelling on the river to see the abbey and other picturesque sites in the area. William Wordsworth stayed in the village in 1798 and wrote Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, the Royal George Hotel is one of several located beside the main road. Tintern is home to several different walking trails, in addition to areas of interest
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives in seclusion from society. In Christianity, the term was applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction. In the Christian tradition the eremitic life is a form of monastic living that preceded the monastic life in the cenobium. The Rule of St Benedict lists hermits among four kinds of monks, other religions, for example, Hinduism and Taoism, have hermits in the sense of individuals living an ascetic form of life. In modern colloquial usage, hermit denotes anyone living apart from the rest of society, or simply participating in social events. In the common Christian tradition the first known Christian hermit in Egypt was Paul of Thebes, an antecedent for Egyptian eremiticism may have been the Syrian solitary or son of the covenant who undertook special disciplines as a Christian. In the Middle Ages some Carmelite hermits claimed to trace their origin to Jewish hermits organized by Elijah, Christian hermits in the past have often lived in isolated cells or hermitages, whether a natural cave or a constructed dwelling, situated in the desert or the forest.
They tended to be out for spiritual advice and counsel. Some eventually acquired so many disciples that they had no physical solitude at all, the early Christian Desert Fathers wove baskets to exchange for bread. In medieval times hermits were found within or near cities where they earn a living as a gate keeper or ferryman. From the Middle Ages and down to modern times eremitical monasticism has practiced within the context of religious institutes in the Christian West. This applies to both their monks and their nuns, there have been many hermits who chose that vocation as an alternative to other forms of monastic life. In the 11th century, the life of the hermit gained recognition as a legitimate independent pathway to salvation, many hermits in that century and the next came to be regarded as saints. The term anchorite is often used as a synonym for hermit, not only in the earliest written sources, yet the anchoritic life, while similar to the eremitic life, can be distinct from it. Anchorites and anchoresses lived the life in the solitude of an anchorhold, usually a small hut or cell.
The door of an anchorage tended to be bricked up in a ceremony conducted by the local bishop after the anchorite had moved in. Another window looked out into the street or cemetery, enabling charitable neighbors to deliver food, clients seeking the anchorites advice might use this window to consult him or her. There are lay people who follow an eremitic lifestyle
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). 