Scheduled Monuments›Wales›Whitland Abbey
Medieval · Abbey

Whitland Abbey

Carmarthenshire, Wales
Cadw SAM CM014
Period
Medieval
Site type
Abbey
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM CM014
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1930-12-19
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Whitland Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the mid-twelfth century in Carmarthenshire, Wales, established as a daughter house of Tintern Abbey. The abbey was an important religious centre during the medieval period, playing a significant role in the spiritual and economic life of the region through its agricultural lands and monastic community. The surviving remains include substantial stone foundations and walls that testify to the substantial nature of the conventual buildings, though much of the site has been subject to later disturbance and agricultural use. The monastery was dissolved during the sixteenth-century Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, after which the site fell into decline.

Whitland Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM014. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Whitland Abbey?

Whitland Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the mid-twelfth century in Carmarthenshire, Wales, established as a daughter house of Tintern Abbey. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CM014.

What period does Whitland Abbey date from?

Whitland 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 Whitland Abbey?

Whitland 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 CM014.

What other scheduled monuments are near Whitland Abbey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castle Heli Mound (7.8 km), Deserted Medieval Settlement (7.9 km), Blaengwaith-Noah Camp (8.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Whitland Abbey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Whitland 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.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Castle Heli Mound
Prehistoric · Round Barrow7.8 km
Deserted Medieval Settlement
Medieval · Deserted Medieval Village7.9 km
Blaengwaith-Noah Camp
Prehistoric · Promontory Fort - inland8.1 km
New House Round Barrows
Prehistoric · Round Barrow8.4 km
Castle-Lloyd Round Barrow
Prehistoric · Round Barrow8.6 km
Castell Meherin Camps
Prehistoric · Hillfort8.8 km
Little Mountain Round Barrow
Prehistoric · Round Barrow9.4 km
Pant-Glas Camp
Prehistoric · Promontory Fort - inland9.5 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Whitland Abbey

Whitland Abbey stands on Arenig Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Arenigian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

All Scheduled Monuments