In Brief

Tintern Abbey

The Chancel and Crossing of Tintern Abbey, Looking towards the East Window by J. M. W. Turner, 1794 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Tintern Abbey was founded for Cistercian monks in 1131 on the bank of the River Wye, which forms a border between Wales and England. Although large and successful, the abbey fell into disrepair even before monasteries were closed in England under Henry VIII between 1536-1541.

Starting in the mid-1700s, the dramatic ruins of the abbey were celebrated in poetry and painting. The most famous poem on the subject is William Wordsworth's "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Visiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798," a meditation on time, nature, and landscape.