Church interlude - The Cross of Moridic at St Peter's Church, Llanhamlach

When we were in Brecon for an auction recently, I decided to check out a couple of local churches which held early Christian crosses.  This church is St Peter and St Illtyd's at Llanhamlach, and was easily found, just off the A40 beyond Brecon.  There are several dedications to Illtyd in this area, and indeed just half a mile away is a Neolithic burial mound bearing St Illtyd's name.

My camera wasn't very good (or rather I WASN'T VERY GOOD) at photographing the Moridic Cross.  Hence starting with the interpretation in the Church, so you know how the stone actually looks.  

This stone was discovered in the demolished medieval rectory where it had been used as a lintel.  It's been dated to the 10th or 11th C and bears the inscription JOHANNIS MOREDIC SUREXIT HUNC LAPIDEM.  Unfortunately the top of the stone is broken off, but there remains a Latin cross with forked ends, and below this are male and female figures with their hands raised to the side of their heads.  Whoever the female figure is (and I think my money is on Brychan's daughter, St. Eiliwedd, due to the field name nearby), the latter would appear to be lactating!

Above: the St Eiliwedd figure is partially visible.

The top half of both of the figures.

The lichen-encrusted stone in its entirety.

The alter with modern paintings of Angels.

The tryptych above the stone, beautifully painted.

Below: I thought it fitting that those who died in WW1 and are remembered in this church, should be remembered again, a century on.

Above, the surname Prosser is obviously a local one here.

Above and below: these were very old grave slabs which had been put into the porch to avoid any further erosion.  One is the Aubrey/Aubray family.

Below, finally another piece of carved stone from early medieval times which has been incorporated into the western wall of the tower.

Many thanks to Sarah and John Zaluckyj' book "The Celtic Christian Sites of the central and southern Marches for information reference this site.

The kitchen at Scolton Manor

The kitchen is always my favourite room in any old house - probably because I enjoy cooking and baking.  I always feel at home there.  This one was no exception and I love that blue they used (we have a slightly lighter shade of this in our bedroom now).  Few words are needed and indeed, I am chasing my tail as we have unexpected guests coming this afternoon and the domestic economy has been scarcely touched in the last 10 days as I've not really been here long enough to dust and tidy!

We've had a bit of rain here . . .

Our river this evening.  It's been higher - over these rocks that I normally stand on to get the view (not today though!!)  It was probably over them in the night as it's been across the bottom lane and left a tidemark.  Our lane is dry at the bottom - yesterday the bend at the bottom of the hill had about a foot of water over it which hadn't been able to get away quick enough.  It did rain a wee bit, and then a wee bit more overnight!

This was the river a month ago, taken from the boulders I couldn't stand on today.  This was after about a month of raining most days, but not heavily all at once.

I don't seem to have one taken when the river was at its lowest.  Or rather, I think I did, but some got lost when I was transferring them to the external hard drive.

Work in Progress and Scolton Manor Part I

Work in progress: that has a his and hers division.  K is working on restoring an old high back Windsor chair we bought last weekend, very cheaply, as it was falling apart and had the most important bit - the decorative backsplat - replaced by a plank of wood!  Fortunately he remembered that he had two backsplats of the sort needed, "somewhere" in his shed of "useful pieces of wood".

At my patchwork class yesterday, I took a break from working on Tam's quilt, and decided to make a bag for carrying my patchwork stuff to class in.  It's the one on the cover, and will have a pocket inside, a couple of zips, some stretchy holey fabric to hold my loose bits and bobs and a pretty bright pink webbing shoulder strap (which I've just remembered to order).

Main material for one front and below, with the fabric which will go either side once it's cut and sewn.

Above, other side, ditto, and below, the matching fabric for the side panels.

Below: fabric for inner pocket.

K has been working on this chair which needed the backsplat replacing, and also two of the "sticks" were missing and have had to be replaced and will obviously all be stained up and polished to match (and the surplus glue holding one bit in removed!!)

Above: another project - someone's version of a gypsy table (we bought one like it recently) with "green baize" top (the dealer told us).  It's a bit of chipboard covered in crushed velvet which isn't quite green baize!!  Anyway, the material's coming off and the top will have a circular mirror with glass tile edging (red) around it.

Just some of the many boxes of apples we have already picked to store over winter.

Finally, outside at Scolton Manor is this huge carving of Bran the Blessed, with K  feeling rather miniature beside it!!

Inside the house, above and below: the fine hallway and staircase.

The sitting room.  No flash allowed, so it was a gloomy photo with the natural light shut out anyway.

The dining room.

At the end of the hall, the bit of the White Park bull that they didn't eat . . .  There is a herd of these in the grounds of Dinefwr Park.

The Butler's Room.

I think this was where the servants ate their meals.

Tomorrow, the kitchen (always my favourite part).  Here's a taster:

British Camp and then Early Christian Crosses

Of course the best photograph of British Camp will be from the air, and for this I suggest the Wikepedia page.  This is a Bronze Age hillfort and the distinctive ditch and bank circuits were probably dug by antler picks - quite a job as it's a big fort.  Folklore would have it that the British chieftain Caractacus made his last stand here.  Whether or not that was the case, there has been found evidence of Roman occupation in the form of a Roman jar dating from the 2nd or 3rd C which was found the only time it was dug archeologically in 1879. It has, however, been surveyed more recently by English Heritage in 2000, and the survey revealed many hut circles - 29 from the earliest hillfort, which increased to 118 in the larger later hillfort.   

In the Medieval period, an oval ringwork was built by the invading Normans in the 11th - 12th C.  There was possibly/probably a wooden castle built here then.  Whether this was primarily a hunting castle, or one to control the hotly-contested boundary of the Shire Ditch it is not known, or it might merely have been the "iron fist in the landscape" to show that the Normans had arrived.

In the last couple of weeks I have joined a Facebook group specializing in Early Christian Crosses, and this has reignited my interest in them (which never really went away).  Anyway, my copies of A Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones etc (Vols. I and II) have been put to good use and Keith and I have visited several ECMs.

This early sculptured stone is to the South of St Cattwg's church at Llanspyddid near Brecon.  It stands about 3 feet high and is dated between the 7th and 9th C.  It has two ring-crosses carved into it but the lower one is very worn now and barely visible.  According to Lhuyd, writing in 1698, there had been an inscription on this stone, but this has worn away.  It was possibly in memory of Aulach or Anlach, father of King Brechan of Brecknock.  Another account states that the stone was previously twice the height it is now, but was cut down in 1880 during restoration work.

King Brechan was apparently very fecund as he apparently sired some 40 - 50 male and female children from 2 marriages, who all became saints in their own right . . .

St Cattwg's Church.  St Cattwg is also known as St Cadog (easier to write!) and was born in 497 AD and founded many churches in Dyfed.  During his lifetime he was Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge, although he died in Benevento in Italty in 580 AD.  His father was a hermit for some time, but obviously got fed up with that and had a change of heart and apart from siring St Cadog, he founded Newport in Gwent.  In English his name was Woolos the Warrior.

Fox and Cubs flowering still.

One of the venerable old yew trees surrounding this church.

Another day, another church, another county.  This one is in Herefordshire, at Orcop, and is St John the Baptist.  It fits so well into the landscape and we loved the 16th C timber bell tower.  Apparently the poet Francis Horovitz is buried here (didn't know that and didn't look for his grave).   We came here for the Medieval preaching cross (below).

The cross is very unusual because of the niche which would have held the Pyx or the Holy Water, when Mass was celebrated at the cross.  Below: close up of the niche.

Obviously a much-loved church with a congregation who can still design and sew (some churches just have plain unadorned kneelers.)

There was no other stained glass than this piece, based on the theme of "light" which was made and installed to celebrate the Millennium.

Many old churches smell musty, but this one smelt wonderfully of the bunches of flowers within it.

Finally a selection of gravestones, which I took photographs of because some of the Border surnames are so unusual.