In early August, when my friend Gay was staying, we stopped here on our way to Presteigne. I had wanted to visit ever since reading Phil Rickman's "The Heresy of Dr Dee" which I heartily recommend. It is set in nearby Presteigne and centres of the Battle of Pilleth, in 1402, between Owain Glyndwr (who held the high ground) and Sir Edmund Mortimer, after which the fallen English bodies were left to rot on the hillside for centuries. Subsequently, in Victorian times I believe, the bones were finally laid to rest in the churchyard and some Wellingtonia trees were planted to mark the spot.
The Lugg valley is so peaceful now, it is hard to imagine that such a bloody battle was fought here, and after the carnage of the battle, it was rumoured that the Welsh women camp followers took their revenge on the English bodies "for acts of brutality during King Henvy IV's wars against them". I will leave you to draw your own conclusions just what form that revenge took. HERE and on Wikipedia HERE is a fuller picture of the battle.
Fighting was fierce around the church, which Glyndwr's men set fire to. You can see the old roof line here, which was lowered during work in 1911. The tower is probably 15th C.
The font is 14th C and despite damage, survived the Battle in 1402.
The church is very simple, and full of light from the clear glass windows. An entry in Archaeologica Cambrensis in 1847 notes that the medieval screen was still in existence but that the square wooden window in the East wall was ready to fall out. Extensive renovation was carried out in 1872/3 by G Potter, but there was a disastrous fire only 20 years later reduced the church to little more than the tower and ruined walls. A poppy-headed pew and a pulpit survive in nearby Whitton Church.
The Holy Well, once roofed, and completely dry this summer, is behind the church, with a Clooty tree decked out beside it. As we passed on along the back wall of the church I felt the most unpleasant atmosphere and my head felt like it was in a vice. Gay said she picked up on this atmosphere too. I rather think Culloden isn't a good place to visit either. . .
I was up from 1.30 - 3.45 in the night, unable to sleep, worried about Theo. This morning, fed up with who will eat what and having even tempting sachets of expensive cat food left uneaten (apart from the Felix Soup which Theo loves) I opened a tin of cheap Tesco chunks in gravy for them and Theo tucked in with a will and even ate a few biscuits. It came to me in the night that he had been like this a few years back when his ears had been bad with mites - he was swaying about with it then because it had affected his balance and he wouldn't/couldn't eat. Then all of a sudden, one day he was eating normally again and made a complete recovery. I am praying this will be the case this time too.
