The remains of the Norman monastic foundation of St Dogmaels Abbey, replacing an earlier pre-Conquest church of Llandudoch, still sit peacefully on the banks of the River Teifi. The site takes its name from Dogmael, one of the early Christian saints whose influence continued to be felt in this area until the coming of the Normans. St Dogmaels Abbey itself was a Norman foundation but there are strong indications that it lay on or near the ancient pre-Conquest church of Llandudoch. The monastery was established about 1113-15 as a dependent priory of the Abbey of Tiron. A few years later, in 1120 Abbot William of Tiron consented to it becoming an abbey. St.Dogmaels Abbey itself was founded in 1120. The Llandudoch abbey site has been used for many years to organise events that not only celebrate the rich heritage of St.Dogmaels but also act as a social focus for this closely knit community. A group of dedicated players has, for the last 22 years, performed a variety of Shakespeare's plays. Each year at the end of July and the beginning of August they gather in the village to recruit local talent and prepare for their week of performances in the atmospheric grounds of St Dogmael's Abbey ruins. On Bank Holiday Monday each year Hanes Llandoch provides a Medieval Day around the abbey site. Locals and visitors attend in period costume and enter into the spirit of the day as they have a go at archery, cooking, fishing, handicrafts, juggling and the art of the court jester. On the mill pond the local coracle men give lessons in the ancient art that is still practised today around the villages upstream.......

Review St Dogmaels Abbey in Wales.