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Margam Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1147 in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, as a daughter house of Neath Abbey. The abbey developed into one of the most prosperous Cistercian foundations in Wales, acquiring substantial landholdings and maintaining a significant architectural presence throughout the medieval period. The surviving structures, including the substantial chapter house of the late twelfth century and remains of the claustral buildings, exemplify the characteristic austerity and functional design of Cistercian architecture. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century, the site was adapted for secular use, with portions of the stonework incorporated into later domestic structures that have themselves now become historic monuments.
Margam Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM005. View the official record →
Margam Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1147 in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, as a daughter house of Neath Abbey. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM005.
Margam Abbey dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a abbey. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Margam Abbey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is GM005.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Kenfig Castle & Medieval Town (3.6 km), Sculptured Cross Llanmihangel Farm (3.7 km), Leat & Dam at Llanmihangel Mill (4.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Margam Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Margam Abbey stands on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.