Disserth Church

 

Look who came in for breakfast!  These two were spotted near our gateway a couple of days ago so I chased them down the track towards the farm, thinking they were escapees from there.  Apparently not . . .  So me and my "long arm" (a hastily grabbed Snooker cue) shooed them out and I shut the gate on them.

        Then after that, I had a stressful start to the day as Little Whale needs to be checked out at the vet's - his 3rd eyelid has been up in varying degrees for a couple of days now.  He's eating fine, but it needs checking - he's sleeping more than usual and his breathing looked a little fast last night.  We have four cat carriers - after half demolishing the contents of the stable block, I could only find one, and that had no grill door at the front.  I checked every outbuilding, checked the attic 3 times, opening any under-the-eaves storage I could get to, but no.  I couldn't even find the grill for the box I did have - yet I knew where that had BEEN and there was a big box there instead.  Finally Keith suggested looking in the built-in cupboard at the end of the attic.  After moving half a dozen BIG pictures leaning against it, there were the missing cat baskets AND the grill. I am tired before I start the day now!

Anyway, the first of two fabulous churches I have visited in the last week.  On Monday Keith and I went to Disserth (sometimes written Diserth) which is on the way to Llandod, on a side road which come out on the Newbridge road.  We came over a hill and there below us was the big whitewashed church with its stone tower, looking like it had always been there.  

The church is dedicated to St Cewydd, who was a 6th C pre-congregational saint of Wales, known as the Welsh Rain Saint (like England's St Swithin.  Interestingly, the church at Aberedw, just a few miles East, also shares the same dedication, as does Cusop, on the edge of Hay-on-Wye. He was supposedly the son of a Pictish king (Scotland) Caw of Prydin, in the Strathclyde area. At one time in history North Wales was part of an area ruled by the Strathclyde British.

It was like stepping back in time 300 years - the original box pews had survived, still with their original occupants' names on them.

Does the name sound familiar?  It should.  This is THE James Watt, who invented the steam engine, and more or less started the Industrial Revolution!!  He retired to this area, and being a land-owner in the parish, had pews allocated to him. His descendants still live in the area.

I can't make out the details on this as it has obviously been weathered, but I think it's an early tomb lid rather than being a ledger stone.

This is the top of the triple-decker pulpit - how I managed to take a photo of the top and the bottom and not the whole thing I will put down to lack of concentration (lots of that these days!!) Below - there were four of these carvings on the face of the pulpit. 

Keith much admired the amazing 14th C (or possibly earlier) roof of oak cross-beams.  He said he'd not seen the trefoil-like design of the struts between the beams before.

I am presuming this is the Lion and Unicorn crest of the United Kingdom, only the lion has been lost.

Plenty of money to pay for this eloquent memorial. It's almost like a pocket family history.

This reads "In the year of our Lord God 1666". This pew was being made in the year of the Great Fire of London.

EE 1706.

These box tombs certainly had a heyday in this area - too much lichen on the top to read any details, but the style dates to the 1st half of the 19th C.

        There was a little booklet you could buy, only I had a choice of a £10 note (needed!) or about £1.25 in small change, so I just photocopied a couple of pages, but can share with you a spooky story.  This probably took place in the 18th C and was heard by the late D Edmondes Owen, one time Vicar of Llanelwedd (here in Builth).

Exorcism of an Evil Spirit

"There was a certain Charles Lewis, a tanner and crofter, who lived at the Henllys in the township of Trecoed.  He had an evil name for dishonesty, having two scales, one to give double weight when he was buying, and the other short weight when he was selling.  He was feared by all, and it was "a good riddance" when he died.  But Charles came back, and his evil spirit took especial pleasure in molesting wayfarers after dark. At length the people could stand it no longer, and they asked Parson Jones of Llwyn Bongam, their rector, to lay the troublesome spirit.  Parson Jones summoned the spirit to meet him in Dissert church, and there with three other parsons he faced the spirit, his awed congregation crowding into the churchyard to await events.

        They saw the four parsons enter the church, armed with books and candles.  Presently, three of the parsons, paralysed with fear, joined the crowd outside: the devil had blown out their candles.  Parson Jones saved his light by hiding it in his top-boot and remained alone with the evil spirit he had invited into the church.  At last he emerged triumphant from the conflict, carrying in his hand a silver snuff-box, in which he said was the evil spirit, which by prayer and invocation he had reduced to the size of a bluebottle fly.  Headed by their deliverer the congregation in jubilant procession made their way to Llyncoededdig, where the snuff box with the evil spirit within was solemnly "tied to the top of an iron bar and forced into the depths of the quaking mire"."

WOW! Result!!

Some of my reference books referred to in the past week: