Abbey Church of St Mary (Tintern Abbey) including monastic buildings

The Abbey Church of St Mary, commonly known as Tintern Abbey, comprises the church itself and associated monastic buildings, dating from the 13th to 14th centuries. The church, begun around 1269 and completed about 1320, is constructed from local red Devonian sandstone, using both rubble and fine ashlar which was quarried nearby. The roofs are modern, made of stone slates. The church, which measures approximately 72 metres in length, retains a remarkable degree of completeness for a Cistercian abbey, adhering to a cruciform plan with a six-bay nave, four-bay choir, a two-bay south transept, and a three-bay north transept. The style is Early English, transitioning to Decorated, exemplified in the west front and the well-preserved window tracery. The crossing piers were large enough to have originally supported a lantern. The church is unroofed except for the south nave aisle and the porch.

The cloister remains as an open courtyard with visible foundations revealing an elaborate late 13th-century arcade. The East Range, spanning the 12th and 13th centuries, contains the Chapter House, Parlour, Monks' Day Room, and the Monks’ Dormitory above, with the ground-floor rooms surviving in a recognisable condition. The North Range, dated to the mid-13th century, includes the Warming House and Refectory, with surviving windows indicating the Refectory was a high-quality space. The West Range, a Lay Brothers' Refectory and Dormitory from the mid-13th century, retains parts of the lower storey. The late 13th-century Porch survives largely complete and roofed, leading to an adjacent Outer Parlour, still identifiable. Foundations remain of the late 13th-century Infirmary Hall, the appearance of which is conjectural. The Abbot’s Lodgings, begun in the 13th century and significantly enlarged in the 14th, feature surviving decorative stonework indicating a substantial medieval house.

The church’s current open interior disguises its medieval division by stone screens and an elaborate Decorated pulpitum, removed around 1880. Originally, the rubble stonework was plastered, the floor was tiled, and the spaces would have featured elaborately vaulted ceilings.