1st Oct: Llanthony Priory

Llanthony Priory: In 1108, William de Lacy, a knight in the service of his Overlord, Baron Hugh de Lacy. He carried out a patrol in the remote Honddu valley on the opposite side of the Black Mountain to his home Castle at Longtown. A devout man, William felt moved by the remoteness and peace surrounding the derelict Anglo-Saxon Church where St David was said to have lived as a hermit. He sought the permission of his overlord to forsake the world and his life as a soldier and become a hermit there himself. Llanthony Priory was one of the earliest houses of Augustinian canons to be founded in Britain and is one of only a handful in Wales. It is chiefly famous today for its wild and beautiful setting, far up the Vale of Ewyas in the Black Mountains. The priory's remoteness in the Welsh hills was its undoing, however, making it vulnerable to attack. Giraldus Cambrensis described it, in the late 12th century, as being 'fixed amongst a barbarous people'.The 4th Lord of Weobley, Baron Hugh (II) de Lacy, in circa 1155, provided men, land, and support to restore Llanthony Priory in the now-named Vale of Ewyes. The restoration was carried out for many years by Baron Hugh de Lacy, and upon his death in 1181, by his son, Baron Walter (II) de Lacy, who continued to receive support and funds from as far afield as Ireland. Further pictures and facts can be found here. https://castlewales.com/llantho.html