Capel-y-ffin Monastery, Grade II listed monastery in Capel-y-ffin, Wales
Capel-y-ffin Monastery is a religious community established around 1870 in a remote valley near the English-Welsh border within the Brecon Beacons landscape. The site consists of several connected buildings containing living quarters, a chapel, and work spaces, set within woodland and open grounds that slope across the hillside.
The community was established in 1870 by Father Ignatius, a priest who sought to revive monastic traditions in Wales. The monastery became prominent in the late 1800s but gradually declined as the religious movement changed direction in the following decades.
The monastery drew artists and creative workers during the early 1900s, becoming a place where makers and thinkers gathered to work and live together. Visitors can sense this artistic legacy in the way the spaces are arranged, showing how community and creative practice were woven into daily life here.
The location is remote and sits high in the mountains, best visited on foot or by bicycle along local routes. Visitors should prepare for changeable weather and bring appropriate footwear, as the terrain is rural and the access roads are not always paved.
In 1880, monks and local farm workers reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary at the site. This event led to a nearby farm being renamed The Vision Farm, a name that persists in the landscape today.
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