Dore Abbey: a Cistercian monastery

Heritage listing

Details The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of the claustral buildings and parts of the outer court and wider precinct of the Cistercian abbey at Dore, as well as the standing remains of the nave of the abbey church and the chapter house. The abbey is located in the steep sided valley, just above the flood plain of the River Dore, and is sited close to the Roman road which ran from Abbergavenny to Kenchester. Dore Abbey was founded by Robert Fitz Harold of Ewyas about 1147. The main complex of conventual buildings was erected between the mid-12th century and 1210 with the church aligned south east to north west and the cloister sited to the north of the church rather than on the more usual southern side. This was most probably due to the geographic restrictions of the site in a steep sided valley which prevented the construction of the cloisters to the south. The abbey was suppressed in 1536 and the buildings rapidly fell into ruins. The church was restored in 1633 for John Viscount Scudemore. Between 1895- 1904, as part of further restorations, Roland Paul excavated and made measured drawings of the remains of the monastic site. The excavations in the body of the nave and in parts of the claustral range and the precinct clarified the layout of the monastery and confirmed its overall compliance with the standard Cistercian plan found in monasteries of the order throughout Europe. The chancel of the monastic church forms the extant parish church of the village of Abbey Dore. The church, which is a Grade I Listed Building and which remains in use, is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included. Approximately 17 chest tombs, which are Listed Grade II and located within the churchyard, are also excluded from the scheduling alt

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.