Souvenir Guide to Tintern Abbey

1960; 1964, 2nd ed.; 1967, 3rd impress.

The Cistercian abbey at Tintern on the river Wye (in south-east Wales) was founded on 9 May 1131. This was shortly after the foundation of Waverley Abbey in Surrey (1128).

The abbey had been placed in the care of the Office of Works just before the First World War, and the first guidebook was prepared by Harold Brakspear in 1919, and revised in 1929 and 1934. This was replaced in 1956 by a guide written  by O.E. Craster. A more informal guidebook appeared in 1960 with a second edition in 1964. This contained a ‘tour’ of the abbey as opposed to the description in the formal guidebook.

Visitor Figures for Cadw sites

Chepstow Castle © David Gill

I have been noted the recent visitor figures for heritage sites in the UK (e.g. English Heritage; National Trust for Scotland). The figures for sites in the care of Cadw were published in October 2015 and cover the year 2014.

The list for sites  is as follows (with 2013 in brackets):

1. Conwy Castle: 186,486 (174,920)
2. Caernarfon Castle: 176,609 (163,394)
3. Caerphilly Castle: 108,576 (110,687)
4. Beaumaris Castle: 87,045 (83,823)
5. Harlech Castle: 76,628 (76,355)
6. Tintern Abbey: 68,566 (67,616)
7. Castell Coch: 68,534 (74,021)
8. Raglan Castle: 60,819 (56,877)
9. Chepstow Castle: 57,905 (52,163)
10. Caerleon Roman Baths and Amphitheatre: 56,657 (52,747)
11. Criccieth Castle: 43,815 (41,096)
12. Kidwelly Castle: 29,661 (NP)
13. Plas Mawr Elizabethan Town House: 24,738 (21,372)
14. St Davids Bishop’s Palace: 23,943 (32,509)
15. Blaenavon Ironworks: 23,127 (18,601)
16. Neath Abbey: 21,650 (NP)
17. Rhuddlan Castle: 20,701 (18,936)
18. Carreg Cennen Castle: 20,495 (18,822)
19. Cilgerran Castle: 20,495 (NP)
20. Laugharne Castle: 15,807 (11,715)
21. Denbigh Castle: 12,342 (13,497)
22. Tretower Court and Castle: 11,830 (13,758)
23. White Castle: 8,603 (9,834)
24. Valle Crucis Abbey: 8,117 (8,438)
25. Strata Florida Abbey: 6,391 (4,956)
26. Oxwich Castle: 6,070 (6,195)
27. Dolforwyn Castle: 5,610 (NP)
28. Dolwyddelan Castle: 5,495 (4,383)
29. Lamphey Bishop’s Palace: 3,856 (3,673)
30. Rug Chapel: 3,387 (3,325)

Note that the four castles of Edward I in North Wales (Conwy, Caernarfon, Beaumaris, and Harlech) are in the top five visitor attractions for Cadw. These form part of the World Heritage Site. Blaenavon is also part of a World Heritage Site.

Tretower © David Gill

Tintern Abbey

This is an overview of Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley, Wales. The remains are in the care of CADW.