Abaty Ystrad Fflur in the Welsh tongue. This former Cistercian abbey, just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales was founded in 1146 by the Cambro-Norman Knight Robert FitzStephen. The name Strata Florida is a Latinisation of the Welsh Ystrad Fflur which means ‘Valley of Flowers’.
Strata Florida controlled many farms throughout Wales; these “granges” provided the monastery with food and income.
In 1401, during Owain Glyndŵr’s rebellion, Strata Florida Abbey was taken by King Henry IV and his son. The monks, sympathetic to Glyndŵr, were evicted and the monastery plundered. It was then turned into a military base. It was returned to the Cistercians with the end of the rebellion.