Caldey Island

Caldey Island lies around 2.5 miles south of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales, a small island covering 538 acres and rising to 197 feet, with more than 1,500 years of recorded religious history behind it.

History

A Celtic monastery was founded on Caldey in the 6th century, followed by a Norman priory in the 12th, establishing a continuous thread of Christian settlement on the island stretching back to the very earliest period of Welsh Christianity.

The current abbey, built in 1910 by Anglican Benedictine monks, is widely regarded as the most complete example of the Arts and Crafts architectural style found anywhere in the country, though financial difficulties eventually forced the original community to sell up; Belgian Cistercian monks purchased the island in 1929 and have maintained a Trappist community there ever since, one of the most enduring monastic presences on any British island.

Island life

Around 40 permanent residents share Caldey with its resident monks today, and the island sustains itself through a distinctive mix of tourism and craft production: the monks’ lavender perfume has been praised by the celebrated perfume critic Luca Turin as “simply the best lavender soliflore on earth”, while Caldey’s chocolate has become a popular visitor souvenir, and the community has run its own internet shop since as early as 2001, an unusually early digital venture for a monastic order.

Wildlife and area

A 13th-century church dedicated to St Illtyd, a 6th-century inscribed ogham stone, and Caldey Lighthouse, built in 1829, all add further historical depth to the island. Caldey’s waters and cliffs support Grey Seal, Puffin, Manx shearwaters and Chough, alongside Common Guillemots and Razorbill.