The Pillar of Eliseg – also known as Elise's Pillar or Croes Elisedd in Welsh – stands near Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire, Wales [Grid reference SJ 20267 44527]. It was erected by Cyngen ap Cadell, king of Powys in honour of his great-grandfather Elisedd ap Gwylog. The form Eliseg found on the pillar is assumed to be a mistake by the carver of the inscription.
The Pillar of Eliseg
The Pillar of Eliseg in 1809
Eliseg's Column; next to Valle Crucis Abbey, Llangollen, Wales; erected by King Cyngen ap Cadell
Pillar of Eliseg, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, in the ancient Lordship of Yale
Valle Crucis Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located in Llantysilio in Denbighshire, north Wales. More formally the Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Valle Crucis it is known in Welsh both as Abaty Glyn Egwestl and Abaty Glyn y Groes.
The abbey was built in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, Prince of Powys Fadog. Valle Crucis was dissolved in 1537 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and subsequently fell into serious disrepair. The building is now a ruin, though large parts of the original structure still survive. Valle Crucis Abbey is now under the care of Cadw. The abbey received 5,690 visitors in 2018.
Valle Crucis Abbey
1875 drawing of the abbey by Alfred Rimmer
The chapterhouse in the east range; compare to the drawing by Rimmer over a century earlier
Engraving taken from Hone's Table-book, showing Pillar of Eliseg with the west front wall of Crucis Abbey in the background
