Scheduled MonumentsWalesStrata Florida Abbey
Medieval · Abbey

Strata Florida Abbey

Ceredigion, Wales
Cadw SAM CD001
Period
Medieval
Site type
Abbey
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM CD001
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1919-12-15
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Strata Florida Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the mid-twelfth century in the valley of the River Teifi in Ceredigion, Wales, serving as one of the most important religious houses in medieval Wales. The abbey was established around 1164 and became a centre of considerable spiritual and temporal power, accumulating substantial landholdings across south Wales and developing a scriptorium of scholarly repute. The surviving ruins, though fragmentary, include elements of the abbey church and cloister buildings constructed in the Gothic style, with the notable survival of a decorated medieval tile pavement and the elaborate west doorway of the church. The site functioned as a significant burial place for Welsh nobility and gentry throughout the medieval period, reflecting its importance as a religious and cultural institution until its dissolution in the sixteenth century.

Strata Florida Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD001. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Strata Florida Abbey?

Strata Florida Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the mid-twelfth century in the valley of the River Teifi in Ceredigion, Wales, serving as one of the most important religious houses in medieval Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CD001.

What period does Strata Florida Abbey date from?

Strata Florida 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Strata Florida Abbey?

Strata Florida 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 CD001.

What other scheduled monuments are near Strata Florida Abbey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carn Fflur Round Cairn Cemetery (3.4 km), Garn Gron Round Cairn Cemetery (4.7 km), Y Garn Round Cairn (5.2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Strata Florida Abbey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Strata Florida Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Strata Florida Abbey report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Strata Florida Abbey

Strata Florida Abbey stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.