Apart from its old associations, the town of the present day is of no special interest. Its streets are crooked and narrow and there is no particularly attractive feature about either the town or the exterior of the abbey church--one mile distant from the station. The present edifice of Norman origin, and dedicated to St Mary and St Lawrence, has been restored at various times since the Dissolution.
Of the early building practically only the nave remains--a very fine specimen of Norman architecture. Of seven bays--the two easternmost of which form the present chancel--and having massive circular columns with chevron or spiral channels, it is somewhat akin to the nave of Durham Cathedral. Other interesting features include the Lady chapel (now used as a schoolroom), beneath which is a crypt--“the fairest,” says Fuller, “that I ever saw,”--a chantry on the south-east side of the nave, of the time of Henry VII., and the western tower, erected in 1556 after the fall of the original tower. During the restoration of 1847 some fine fresco paintings, composed of life-sized figures, were discovered on the walls, and in 1875 the north aisle was added. There are several monumental brasses in the church, and in the south aisle is a large tomb to Sir E. Denny, Knight, and Margaret his wife, with recumbent effigies. The site of the abbey passed into the possession of this family after the Dissolution, then to the celebrated James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, and lastly to the family of Sir W. Wake, Bart., D.C.L. A few walls, a small bridge, and a gateway are all that remain of the monastery.
HEREFORDSHIRE: SOMERSETSHIRE: GLOUCESTERSHIRE: MONMOUTHSHIRE
DORE: GLASTONBURY: BATH: TEWKESBURY: TINTERN: LLANTHONY
Founded and endowed by Robert, Earl of Ferrars, in the 12th century--1216, Certain lands given to the monastery by King John--1233, These endowments confirmed by Henry III. and the abbey church completed in his reign--15--, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £101, 5s. 2d.
This religious house, like many others of the Cistercian order, was built in a secluded and beautiful spot. Though the architecture of the Cistercian monasteries is not so ornamental or elaborate as those of the Benedictines from whom they sprang, still their churches have a grandeur and simplicity which immediately impress the visitor. Abbey Dore, on the river Dore in Herefordshire, may indeed be included among the most interesting and beautifully situated in England. To quote from _Our Own Country_:--