Keith and I tried to visit this church last summer, but there was no obvious or marked entrance. I tried again when I went to Brecon a couple of weeks back, although it was not marked the obvious way which took you into the yard of the Manor House/Rectory. I chose to approach up a steep little lane - no parking, so I cwtched into a corner of a house driveway and crossed the lane. The church sits on a terrace and looks towards the Black Mountains. A previous church dated to the 13th C but the present one is mainly of 14th and 15th Century construction. It's earliest roots are in the 6th Century, when it was dedicated to St Maelog, and there are still parts of the churchyard which are slightly circular. Baring Gould and Fisher considered it was dedicated to the unknown St Tyfalle, but that was more of a guess than any considered antiquarian research.
Another Piscina, this time inside the church.
I hope you have enjoyed visiting it with me.
Now as it's dry and sunny, I'm back outside to carry on tidying up the garden. Have done a chunk of the 40 feet or so of old stable yard cobbles, getting rid of the moss, mud and weeds mainly using a screwdriver. I know how to have fun! It's made me more cheerful anyway - a job that really needs tackling.
Yes, it's getting to be that time of year isn't it. I was hosing down the bird table and all the mess that they had made earlier today then my hose end sprouted half a dozen holes and soaked me through ... serves me right for leaving it out in all that frost I suppose. It's satisfying to clear moss and weeds from around cobbles though isn't it. :-)
ReplyDeleteVery satisfying, but gosh oh golly, my back and my right hand/wrist are complaining now! I feel really good though, as I've spent half the day out there gardening today. Last year I was SO low that I hardly did a thing. Now I really WANT to get going out there again.
ReplyDeleteSorry you got soaked but at least the bird table's clean again!
Another lovely little church, the outside being white is so different to churches here.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to think how many churches ARE painted round here. Will have to go back and check posts. It sits very well in its position up on the hillside.
DeleteSo much of interest in this church and thank you for highlighting the best bits. I’ve just been reading in our Parish magazine about poor relief for the villagers back in the day, and of course it is still necessary today. Our rector set up a fund last year to help those most in need, mostly young families with children at the school. Well done on the gardening, although scraping between the cobbles sounds like hard work. I was in the garden for a couple of hours this afternoon making the most of the sunshine. I cut down and thinned out the autumn raspberries, weeded around the garlic, planted bulbs (I’d potted up in individual pots last autumn when the ground was parched) down in the woodland edge, did a little cutting back under the pergola: clematis, alchemilla mollis, epimedium and crocosmia and thinned out the rampant Nigella, made a start on the very weedy parterre by pulling off the tatty bearded Iris leaves and was thrilled to see lots of buds on the anemones which love this well-drained full-sun spot. Hope to get out tomorrow too - lots to do which I love and after yesterday’s compost heap turning I have barrow loads of delicious crumbly compost to spread. I had a little Robin following me around and had such a nice time pottering with snowdrops, primroses and hellebores all just beginning and the scent of Witch Hazel Jelena (a coppery flower) wafting around the woodland edge. Almost five years here and I am beginning to reap the rewards of my labours. Hope you can continue tomorrow, As you can probably tell I rarely spend more than 15 mins on any one job, and by mixing it up I save my old bones! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteYes, you must! Garlic needs a prolonged cold spell to allow the cloves to form, otherwise you will be pulling whole bulbs - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if a recipe calls for a whole roasted garlic. Your poor great great grandfather. We can have no idea how our ancestors suffered with pain from working their body to the bone. My husband’s grandfather (born 1880) was a tailor with a shop in town (East Street, Chichester). We have a photo taken outside the shop in 1915 with my husband’s father aged four looking just like Christopher Robin in his little frock coat. We had a lovely walk this morning up on the Downs, good views of the Isle of Wight, sea glinting in the sunshine, but now it is grey and cold so I am indoors and have just sat down with a cup of tea after doing some essential domestic work. S is out having a hair cut and buying wine and I am enjoying a rare home alone time. S received today a letter and questionnaire to complete relating to his next appointment on 13 February. Some of the questions are really horrid, and I don’t want to think about where we may be in 10 years. Take good care BB, you are a great role model and you have my respect for all you are doing. Sarah x
DeleteI have been working in my garden too. Mostly mowing over all the leaves and catching them in the mower bag to use as mulch on my front flower beds, where it gets very hot later on. My thing to get through the boring parts is to listen to music from my favorite station on my phone and via ear buds.
ReplyDeleteI expect you need to do the garden before it gets too hot. I would say not normally a problem here but then we had a bit of sun and a heatwave last summer!
DeleteYes absolutely. But I do go out when it is hotter in the summer in the evening barefoot and in shorts and tank top to garden way to hot otherwise.
DeleteWhat a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteThanks Simon. Lots of them round here.
DeleteWhat an interesting little church. I love the plain font. Just perfect.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It's Norman, when they were generally on the plain side. I like to seek out the embellished ones, especially the amazing Herefordshire School which are mind-blowing. I suppose I've got a "thing" about the sculpture and it is compelling.
DeleteAn interesting little church - glad you managed to visit. I particularly like the medieval glass fragments, the wall paintings and that lovely old ancient door.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the beautiful windows were destroyed I am surprised the rood screen survived.
DeleteLovely
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
I am kicking myself now for not visiting the really interesting churches in West Wales when we lived there.
Delete