Founded in Wales in 1131, the Cistercian abbey is today one of the most spectacular ruins in the country and has been the inspiration of poets and artists down the centuries, including William Wordsworth and Joseph Turner.

Photographed by Alexander Wilson of Leamington.

The illegitimate son of George Washington Wilson, Alexander was born in 1842. His mother, Isabella Johnstone, was a farmer’s daughter who refused to marry the boy’s father. Wilson père took full responsibility for the boy throughout his upbringing and taught him everything he knew about photography During the 1860’s, Alexander moved to Leamington Spa where, with capital from his father, he established himself as a photographer and a bookseller. [Roger Taylor, George Washington Wilson: Artist and Photographer, 1981].