Caldey

South Coast of Caldey Island
Caldey Island (Wales)
Geography
Location	Celtic Sea
Coordinates	51°38′N 4°41′W / 51.64°N 4.69°W / 51.64; -4.69
Country
Wales
County	Pembrokeshire
Demographics
Ethnic groups	Welsh people

Map of Caldey Island, 1952

Cistercian Monastery, Caldey Island

Caldey Island is an island off Wales just south of the mainland Pembrokeshire coast.^[1] Caldey Island is known as one of Holy Islands of Britain, as traditions inherited from Celtic times are observed by the Cistercian monks of the island.^[2] The island’s population consists of 40 permanent residents and varying number of Cistercian monks,^[3] known as Trappists who migrated from Belgium and now practice farming to make a range of items including cheese, shortbread, perfumes and toiletries. In 1906, the Anglican Benedictines, who purchased the island, built the extant monastery and abbey, which was then taken over by Trappists in 1928.^[4] Caldey Island is located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south of the town of Tenby and its history has been recorded for over 1500 years. Visitors are ferried to the small island in small boats not only to visit the sacred sanctuary but also view the rich wildlife.^[5]

Name origins[edit]

Caldey Island, also spelled Caldy Island, is called Ynys Bŷr in the Welsh language, after an early abbot of the sixth century.^[6] Caldey Island's name is derived from the Viking keld eye, meaning "cold island" (cald - cold; ey - island).^[4][7]

History[edit]

Local history shows a Celtic monastery was first established on the island in the sixth century, and the island thrived during the Middle Ages.^[8][9] In the 12th century, a priory was established here by Benedictine monks, lasting until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. The current abbey was built in 1910 by Anglican Benedictine monks but financial problems beginning in 1925 led to the 1929 purchase of the property by Belgian Cistercians.^[10] It is considered to be the most complete example of the Arts and Crafts style in the country, and was largest project of John Coates Carter. At the time of building, the abbey was called "the greatest phenomenon in the Anglican community at the present time". The roofs are of white roughcast with red tiling, and the abbey church has a south tower, with five side-windows, and has a "tapering" tower with primitive crenellations. Caldey Island and Little Caldey Island has been an ecclesiastical district as long as the locals can remember, with 20 Cistercian monks living at the monastery in the present day.^[11] The Census Reports of the County of Pembroke record as an ecclesiastical district for administrative purposes.^[12]

Geography[edit]

Caldey Island is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) in width at its longest dimensions. The island lies in the Carmarthen Bay of the Bristol Channel in Sir Benfro county, a little over 2.3 miles (3.7 km) southwest of Tenby in the southern mainland of Wales.^[4][10] Caldey Island is separated from the mainland by the Caldey Sound. A ferry service from Tenby goes to Caldey Island in the spring and summer months when the weather allows.^[9] Boats depart every half hour from the harbour when there is a high tide, while during low tide, they depart from Castle Beach.^[11] Caldey Island consists of two islands when separated at high tide. They are called Caldey Island and Little Caldey Island. Little Caldey Island is also known as St. Margaret Island or "St. Margaret's Isle". Little Caldey Island (St. Margaret's Island) is off the north-western point of Caldey Island, and acquired its name in the 17th-century.^[13] The smaller island is known for its seals and bird sanctuary.^[4]

Caldey Island contains about 500 acres, most of which is tillable land. Greenhouses on Caldey Island produce vegetables for the city of Cardiff in the historic county of Glamorgan. There are also some hatcheries for raising chickens and other poultry on the island.^[14] Caldey Island has a single village, but is best known for its monastery.

Climate[edit]

The average high and low temperatures, and wind speeds for each month of the year for Caldey Island are given in the following table. The absolute maximum temperature recorded is 33 degrees C in the month of August and the absolute minimum recorded is (-) 9 degrees C in the month February.^[15]

Nature[edit]

Caldey Island is known for its flowers which are rarely found in other areas of the United Kingdom. The island also has many species of birds that are prevalent in the summer months.^[14] The country's largest colony of cormorants is located at St Margaret's Island.^[11]

Economy[edit]

The island’s economic activity is supported by tourism and agriculture and has factories and farms, mainly involving the monks, who make cheese, perfumes and other products.^[3] The main income comes from the sale of perfume, shortbread and chocolate items. There is an internet shop based on the island that opened in the monastery in 2001.^[16] Their lavender perfume is said to be "simply the best lavender soliflore on earth" by the perfume critic Luca Turin.^[17]

Caldey Island provides a spiritual retreat year round that accommodates up to 750 guests in the local guesthouse.^[8] Caldey Island has a functioning post office which includes a museum on the island's history.^[18] The island has its own postage stamps and its own monetary unit, the Dab.^[10]

Archaeological excavations[edit]

Caldey Island monastery reflected in the pond

On this island, three caves, namely, the Nannas Cave (1915),^[19] the Potters’s Cave (1950) and the Ogof–yr-Ychen Cave (1970), were discovered and excavated to unearth archaeological finds.^[20] In Nannes Cave human bones and shells were first found in 1911 and excavations were continued in three more stages till the 1970s.^[19] The Potters’s cave was found in 1950 by a monk named James Van Nedervelde, and excavations which continued till 1970 revealed stalagmite initially in which tools and animals were embedded. After removal of these finds, three humans skeletons were found and carbon dated, out of which two were dated to the Early/ Late Mesolithic age and one was dated to the Roman-British period. Also found were a few artifacts dated to the late Upper Paleolithic period. In the Ogof–yr-Ychen Cave, which was discovered in 1970, the human remains of five people found, burials date to between 7590 BC and 571 Cal BC. Stable Isotope tests carried out on the human finds have also revealed that the individuals lived on marine food.^[20] Finds in the form of earlier neolithic bowls and shells (very few of them) have also been noted from the two caves and also from the Nanna’s Cave. All the finds have been preserved in the Abbey of the Caldey island, and in Tenby Museum and Art Gallery and were subject to carbon dating.^[19]

Landmarks[edit]

Caldey Island Priory

Caldey Island Lighthouse

Tourist attractions on Caldey Island include a twelfth-century church, an Ogham cross from the sixth century, a Norman chapel, and Caldey Abbey, completed in 1910. Caldey Lighthouse was built in 1828.^[21] The light was intended to help coastal traffic trading limestone and coal to mid and north Wales but the light also helped long-distance and north American traffic identify the Bristol Channel and avoid confusion with the English Channel. The lighthouse is a squat, round, brick-lined limestone tower of 17.07 m (56 ft), with walls 0.91 m (3 ft) thick at the base and 2 ft 6 in (0.76 m) thick at the top. The light stands 64 m (210 ft) above high-water mark. The lighthouse became automated in 1929. The lighthouse keepers cottages that flank the lighthouse are two-storey, with hipped roofs, octagonal chimneys, and a one-storey linking corridor. The cottages were built around 1868-70 by T. C. Harvey.

On the north side of Caldey Island it is made up of gray limestone, a desirable building material.^[14] The nineteenth century seems to have been the height of limestone quarry production on the island. Some limestone was taken to the Annery kiln in the district of Torridge for processing.^[9]

Other facilities[edit]

The island issues its own postage stamps and has its own currency called the Dab meaning “flat fish”, a small fish species which could be caught in the beaches. Another old charm which could be experienced during a visit to the island is a colonial tea shop on the green fields.^[22] There is an underground reservoir beneath the monastery which in the olden days served the purpose of water supply to the garden and the people.^[22]

The isolated island’s capability to handle emergencies during fire hazards has been recently supplemented with a multipurpose emergency vehicle, which has capability to be used as a police car, ambulance, and also a water trailer for a fire engine. The firefighting service on the island consists now of regular a firefighting unit, a duty which used to be performed by the monks in the past. The last reported major fire in the island was in 1940 when the monastery suffered damages. Recently, six fire tenders had to be brought by boat in December 2012 from Tenby to douse a small fire.^[3]

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Atkinson, David; Wilson, Neil (2007). Wales. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-538-3. 

• Stephen Burrow (2003). Catalogue of the Mesolithic and Neolithic Collections at the National Museums and Galleries of Wales. National Museum Wales. ISBN 978-0-7200-0516-5. 

• Churchman, Associates (1908). The Churchman. Churchman Company. Retrieved 3 June 2013. 

• Hastings, Adrian (1 August 2000). A World History of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8028-4875-8. Retrieved 3 June 2013. 

• Heath, Robin F.; Michell, John F. (1 August 2006). The Lost Science of Measuring the Earth: Discovering the Sacred Geometry of the Ancients. Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 978-1-931882-50-7. 

• Heath, Robin F.; Michell, John F. (15 August 2006). The Lost Science of Measuring the Earth: Discovering the Sacred Geometry of the Ancients. Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 978-1-931882-50-7. 

• Manwaring, Kevan (2008). Lost islands: inventing Avalon, destroying Eden. Heart of Albion. ISBN 978-1-905646-07-4. Retrieved 3 June 2013. 

• Royal, Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Wales and Monmouthshire: VII - County of Pembroke. Retrieved 3 June 2013. 

• Williams, David H. (2001). The Welsh Cistercians: Written to Commemorate the Centenary of the Death of Stephen William Williams (1837-1899), the Father of Cistercian Archaeology in Wales. Gracewing Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85244-354-5. Retrieved 3 June 2013. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Caldey Island

• Official Caldey Island website
• The monks installed a television set as a 'one-off' to watch the funeral of Pope John Paul II
• Photos of Caldey Island and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk

Coordinates: 51°38′14″N 4°41′08″W / 51.63722°N 4.68556°W / 51.63722; -4.68556

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