Church Micro 8464...Llanthony Priory EarthCache
Hidden : 10/10/2015
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


Llanthony Priory is a partly ruined, former Augustinian Priory Abbey in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, near the Wales/England border.

The priory, and the still intact St David's Chapel, were built in the early 12th century. The priory was partly destroyed during Henry VIII's 'Dissolution of the Monasteries', and this forced monks living in the priory to retreat and build 'Llanthony Secunda' in Gloucestershire.

This Earthcache shows how glacial processes produced the building materials used in the construction of Llanthony Priory.

...it will also bring you to this wonderful hidden gem of the Black Mountains.


*The Priory is only open to the public from 10am - 4pm and it's recommended you only visit during daylight hours, unless you're staying onsite*. The Priory is completely closed on December 24/25/26 and January 1.

The Vale of Ewyas
 The Vale of Ewyas is the valley that Llanthony lies in. It consists mainly of three rocks, as shown below:

The valley is composed of St Maughan's formation (a Devonian rock composing of around 80% mudstone and 20% sandstone) but at the top of the hill to the east of Llanthony (Twn Lech) consists mainly of Old Red Sandstone.

Glacial Erosion and Deposition

The Vale of Ewyas, like all of the Black Mountains, was carved out by a glacier in the last ice age. The sheer force of such a large mass of ice, most likely travelling south on a conveyor of its own meltwater, would've carved out the landscape. Also, where snow fell the cracks in the rocks and expanded, these rocks would've caused further breakup. This changed a small river valley into a large, U-shaped valley.

This change in gradient has triggered great landslides, which transport loose rocks (scree) from the top of the hill to the bottom of the valley, and in some places Llanthony.
A sign in the car park of the priory, at waypoint 1, explains this process further and the first section of questions is on this.

There is evidence which suggests this vast and natural supply of rocks was used by Monks to build Llanthony Priory in 1180.
Apart from the obvious fact that the entire priory is made of stone, many of the walls have a reddish-brown tinge. There are also evidence from the way it was built and the formation of crystals. More on this will come clear as you progress through the stages.

To 'find' this cache, you must answer the following questions over five sites. Posting a photo would also be nice, especially as this is a very photogenic location, but this is optional.
Please email or message me, rather than send answers in logs. Failure to comply or incomplete answers will result in log deletion. There is nothing at the listed coordinates. It is simply there prevent a clash with the waypoint 1 coords and 'Old Nick'.

Waypoint 1: Car Park
Here you'll find a signpost which details the glacial history of the valley. It further explains what is listed above and how the rock got here.
1) How many years ago did the glacier carve out the valley?
2) What two things caused landslides? Name the exact things listed.
3) What nearby building was built at the foot of one of the most dramatic landslides?
4) Look around you in the car park. Can you see any evidence that any scree (loose glacial rocks) are being stored to be used to make further builds to the priory? Do you think that these rocks are modern or have been stored since the original build?

Waypoint 2: Old Refractory Wall
Here you'll find the only remaining part of the old refectory (religious house) wall, made of St Maughan's Formation. Along the cafe side of this wall, on the surface, you should see some exposed crystals, which look a bit like paint stains.
5) What colour are these crystals?
6) Describe the texture of the crystals compared to the wall.
7) Suggest what crystals they are.

Waypoint 3: Chapter House
On the sign in Chapter House there is a map of the priory which shows when certain sections were built. Due to the vast distances between the time periods, different building styles would've been used to build the priory.
8) In what time period were the arches (at waypoint 5, made of St Maughan's and Old red Sandstone), built? Your answer should be between one year and another.

Waypoint 4: The Crack in the Slype Wall
Here you should see a large crack in the wall. It can't be said for certain how this crack occurred, but most likely it was through attack. However it got there, it reveals the way in which the inner part of the wall was built.
Compare the outer wall with the rocks inside the crack.
9) How are they aligned differently?
10) What differences do you notice in smoothness of the rocks?
11) Can you see any evidence of brownstone being used? Is this mainly in the inner crack or the outer wall?

Waypoint 5: The Arches
These stone arches are a very predominant part of the priory, and were part of the church's nave. Above the arches was a lookout building, also made of stone.
12) How many complete arches are there in total in this line?
13) Compare the colour of the rocks in the arches with the building above, and suggest which contains more red sandstone?
14) Which is more weathered?
15) *OPTIONAL* Take a photo of yourself and/or GPS at the arches, in a way that doesn't reveal any of the answers.

Placed with permission of Cadw.

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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk

See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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Well done to Funk to Funky for a quick FTF!

As part of the 13th International Earthcache Day (October 2015) I challenged myself to place an Earthcache every month until Earthcache day 2016. This Earthcache was placed in October 2015 and kicks off that challenge.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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