Abergavenny Priory

   Our final port-of-call on what was a busy day of sight-seeing was Abergavenny - a lovely market town in Mid-Wales. The priory church is full of good things: a good set of late Medieval choir stalls, a plethora of tombs (Medieval and later) and a remarkable sculpture, in wood, of the sleeping Jesse.  It is about life-size and would have formed the base of a monumental sculptural group culminating in a figure of Christ - a 'Tree of Jesse'.  It is a rare and fortunate survivor.  Of the church the crossing, transepts and chancel (with chapels) are Medieval; the nave is Victorian replacement for the replacement of the Medieval structure.  The nave is not too bad, rather G F Bodley in style. Like the priory at Kidwelly that we visited last year it was founded, along with a castle, by a Norman aristocrat (in this case Hamelin de Bohun) as part of Norman invasion and settlement of Wales.