Following its foundation, Tintern acquired large tracts of land in Co. Wexford and at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, appears to have been the third richest Cistercian abbey in Ireland (after St. Mary's in Dublin and Mellifont). Shortly after, Tintern Abbey and its lands were granted to Anthony Colclough from Staffordshire, an officer in Henry VIII's army.The family lived there until 1959 and after a few years the State took over the abbey.