Saturday 13 August 2022

St Andrew's Church, Presteigne

 Not mentioned anywhere, this stump of an earlier preaching cross (I assume) could well date back to the 9th C Saxon origins of the original church on this site.


Pevsner declares that St Andrew's Church at Presteigne is "architecturally much the best in Radnorshire", its wealth having largely come from the Herefordshire part of the parish (it is right on the border and indeed still in the diocese of Hereford.)  Hah! - you can tell the dividing line when the car feels as if it has square wheels and no suspension the moment you cross into Herefordshire!! Having a scanty population, they do not have much money to throw at road repairs . . .


I loved this "place in the landscape" type of photo showing some of the lovely old buildings lining Broad Street as it drops towards the bridge over the River Lugg.


The Church was held by the Augustinian Canons of Wigmore from the 13th C until the Reformation. The early roots are well hidden on the exterior in this view.


A plain 14th C font.


If you are a military person, these recently carefully-conserved banners would be the highlight of your visit.  I was certainly drawn to them (ahem, so much so that I totally ignored the amazing Flanders tapestry dating to 1510 and showing Christ's entry into Jerusalem.  See link for photo.  In my defence, I find faded tapestries a tad . . . boring.)  Anyway, the one above shows the historic banner of the Radnorshire Militia, which dates from the Napoleonic Wars.  I find this more amazing - it has survived a war AND 200 years since.  The silk colours would have originally been blue.


Here is the banner of the long-extinct Radnorshire Rifle Volunteers, which was formed in 1860 and this banner was given to them in 1861 by Lady Walsh.  The central coat of arms is the unofficial one of Presteigne - the shield of the Mortimers. 



I assume this section of the Union Jack flag was also from Napoleonic times.


Looking down the church - hello friend Gay!!  






An attractive rood screen (Pearson restoration detail?) and below, many memorials to the great and good of the parish.








The unsung heroines of any church were responsible for making pretty patchwork seat covers throughout.


A glimpse of the chancel roof which dates back to Tudor times.  Pevsner mentions early C14 stonework around the chancel arch and it was recorded as painted with figures of Moses and Aaron on the W side and Death and Time on the E. If fragments remain, I didn't notice them.  The Chancel is "fully developed Perp" (easy to tell when I am quoting Pevsner!) It is Grade 1 listed. The church was skillfully restored and altered by Gilbert-Scott back in the 1860s.


Finally, a 13th C coffin lid, possibly for a member of the Mortimer family, lies in a recess.


This poor girl, Mary Morgan - taken advantage of and who, in a state of complete desperation murdered her illegitimate baby, paid the ultimate price for it, being the last woman to be hung in Presteigne.  She was only 17.

My holiday is over now as my friend Gay returned home yesterday.  Lots more posts to come from our outings.

Keith saw the Physio last week and has some neck exercises to do, which really seem to help - after doing them he can stand up straight away from the chair -but sadly when we tried a walk yesterday his neck once again prevented him from walking easily and we had to do just a few yards and return to the car.  He is fine in the house, so he is thinking it is an almost psychological thing that stops him walking in the park. We are going to see about a wheelchair on Monday, so we can get out and about whilst waiting to hear that OT have finally recommended the mobility scooter he needs. Hoping it will be soon as two big Fairs coming up and Keith would love to go to them

Update: goodness it's hot out there already.  We have just sold our old chest freezer to some farmers from Rhayader way so that gives me some housekeeping for this week.  I think the afternoon will be spent doing more family history after I have had a breakthrough for my dad's deepest of Devon (Dartmoor fringe) roots.  Yesterday I found the house where our folk lived - my dream thatched and cob Devon farmhouse . . .  Wish THAT had stayed in our branch of the family, but sadly ours became Ag. Labs. rather than Yeomen.

15 comments:

  1. Such a sad tale of the 17 year old Mary Morgan.
    Good news for Keith and physio, I am still waiting to be contacted {since March} Also, re: his motor scooter which will be brilliant for you both, I'm sure of it.
    A genealogy breakthrough is always triumphant!

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    1. Gosh - that's a LONG wait. Jump up and down RP, as making a fuss is sadly the one thing that makes a difference.

      Will chase the OT folk up about the Mobility Scooter on Monday . . .

      Well, it's not totally a PROVEN link as I am thinking, these people were tidily off - so why did my 3 x g. grandfather end up on the parish?

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  2. Wow, that memorial stone tells a tale doesn't it - poor lass
    Alison in Wales x

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  3. She didn't contest it - obviously broken with guilt over what she had done.

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  4. What a lovely church - I think that was where several cousins removed Heather had her funeral service. I was invited but it was a long way and during a lock down when I couldn't even stay the night at the caravan as the site was closed.

    Such a very sad tale about poor Mary Morgan. Interesting to see a possible Mortimer connection there. I will have to see how far it is from us.

    Glad you have had a great week with your friend and outings and I am pleased Keith is seeing a physio. Hope you can get a wheelchair and mobility scooter sorted soon.

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    1. Now you know whether your several cousins removed Heather is buried then. A lovely church indeed - too far to go in Lockdown for you though. Hope you can visit one time you are down. From Bodenham, say, it's 36 minutes (21miles). Not sure how much further you are East of there.

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  5. Gorgeous church, and the memorial sure does tell a story. Poor child, as that is what Mary was.

    Glad the exercises are helping Keith.

    God bless.

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    1. A child indeed - sinned against and abandoned. The neck exercises make a difference but he still gets tired in the afternoon.

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  6. A really nice church to visit. Looks quite large inside with quite a bit to see. Sad to see the last woman hung there was only 17. I came a cross the last person who was hung for Horse theft at one church and no matter how the vicar or horse owner tried to get the magistrates to commute the sentence it was carried out

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    1. I can recommend going to Presteigne - it is very pleasant and a lovely place to saunter round. I think some of these magistrates had a rush of blood to the head and wanted to set an example. I don't know how they slept at night.

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  7. Poor Mary Morgan. Visiting cool churches sounds like a perfect way to spend a heatwave. I understand the psychological element for Keith. I hope you can both find a way forward. For what it’s worth my advice would be little and often and exercise by stealth. For example is K able to get up to make you both a cup of tea, can he stand at the ironing board and do five minutes ironing (tea towels and pillowcases), can he push a vacuum cleaner around? The other side to doing these things (and I am not being patronising in any shape or form) is the praise and feel good factors they evoke - the latter being especially important for PD. The heat has been almost unbearable here in the South Downs, thank goodness we live on a slight hill with plenty of tree shade in the garden, the golden meadow to sustain wildlife, sleeping downstairs, and a veg garden that is producing small but extremely tasty produce on no-watering! Take good care BB, thinking of you often. Sarah x

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    1. I've asked him if he can make tea in the mornings, and perhaps get his breakfast bowl and the porridge oats, and then I will carry the tea through (for the sake of the carpets!) Since extra medication added, he has developed a slight shake on his bad hand. He definitely couldn't manage the vacuum cleaner - it's a heavy Dyson one and when he walks he has to be "on a mission" still, with no distractions. He was good on the lawn today and even managed it up the slight slope - this has been a no-no until today. Slowly, and he mustn't overdo things the Physio said.

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    2. P.S. Just went up for a shower and realized that the bed was still unmade, although I had washed and dried all the bedding this morning (quicker to dry out in the sun than it was on the wash cycle!) Like you, I can't wait for cooler weather and some rain (clouds have hove into sight today), as I am fed up with being tired and sticky and having to water round.

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  8. Gloriously decorated church. Churches are a place for craftmanship of the finest order, no matter what the date. Having said that I can't stand marble memorials on the wall - so cold but that tracery is to die for.
    A wheel chair will be the right thing for Keith to go around the fair, though pushing ones are clumsy. I had one when I fractured my ankle, nearly got run over by an ambulance if I remember, when I careered down the slope of the A&E dept.

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    1. It was definitely a nice cool building to be in on a hot day. I sometimes find some very interesting dedications on the memorials (got a good little book about it recently too).

      Keith will be better off in a wheelchair so we can have some outings. The lightweight ones are easy to manouvre, and fold up to go in the car boot. Glad you managed to avoid that ambulance!

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