Saturday 8 November 2014

St David's Glascwm



St David's Glascwm




 St Davids is a small church which I has spotted on the Ordnance Survey Map, it is in the village of Glascwm which is along some very narrow country roads. The sort of roads which in this country have passing places and if you meet another car one of you has to reverse. God forbid you meet a tractor or truck. The day I came across the church my wife & I had gone for a drive round these roads to look at what the area was like. The church was set just down a hillside so I stopped off to have a quick look then drove on to finish our tour. I came back later to take some photos. I might add St Davids Church is one of three Parish Churches (there is a forth at Colva) with that name in the area and over the next three weeks I will show them to you. It dates back to the 11th century




 The first photos shows the one of the ways into the church which if you follow the path brings you to the church as you see it below




Must admit the first place I went was inside as having previously looked inside I wanted to see more
 You can see why looking at the following photo's
 I like the way the Chancel arch has exposed stonework



Going through to the chancel the sun as you can see shines through the side windows




Illuminating the altar









which as you can see is bright when it does







The chancel window is one of beauty and when the sun shines through first thing in the morning bust cast some beautiful colors around








The window is dedicated to St David and was given by James E D Lliclson in 1924.


The top of the chancel window




 Turn round and you see the choir pews and chancel arch
where if you stand under you get a great view of the nave




On one side in the chancel you can see this byre




look at some of the wonderful carving on the choir pew finals





and see the flowers on seats, I love the way they are arranged in a jug
 Cheeky shot looking down the nave from the pulpit.





Going to the back of the church you can see the church font near the entrance door, on the opposite side is the old church bell with it's yoke



 The roll of honor in Glascwm church




the wording in the top is becoming faded but lists two men who died




 
 behind the list in the  frame are these names who I wondered is they came back safe as the names in the fram from WWII did.


I was also drawn to this cross with the names Oberleutnant Günther Brixius & Feldwebel A Liedig, German Air Force 25.4.42. They were killed when their Junkers JU88 was shot down and crashed into Gwaunceste Hill which is just behind the church. They were temporarily interned in the churchyard before being moved to the Deutsche Soldatenfriedhof at Cannock Chase






 Near the Chancel arch is the pulpit with a couple of memorials beside it
















The harvest Festival was all set out round the church










With flowers , fruit & vegetables on show






I found out that the church had a rood loft at one time and these two windows in the nave by the chancel would have lit the stares leading to it







 



There were some beautiful kneelers depicting  birds like this lapwing




and these ducklings















 Going back outside to look round the church which is build from stone

















with a slate & wood bell tower




The north side of St David












Most of the east side of the churchyard is old




with moss covering the memorials















or lichen



















the south side near the road





headstones & tomb chests




Fenced off family crypts









old cast markers from round a tomb




even one broken in tow



William & Thomas Meridith who dies with in months of each other  during 1890
An overgrown part of the churchyard


I hope you have enjoyed your visit here. If you are in the area and visit the church I would urge you to buy a copy of the parish guide, it is very interesting and gives a better background than I can provide. Next week will be from St Davids Cregrina a few miles away. Have a peaceful Day





10 comments:

  1. Great photos. Thanks for showing us around.

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  2. Bill, every week you find such beautiful churches, keep them coming! Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  3. lichen is such a fun word. ( :
    love that window / amazing architecture

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  4. What a great old church. Love all the details you showed us. The chancel window is very beautiful. Love those kneelers! Don't even get me started on the narrow lanes to get to some of the beautiful sites in Great Britain!

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  5. oh my goodness, i enjoyed all of this!

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  6. That looks a very special place, Bill. And covered comprehensively, as usual! I want to know how one pronounces the name of the village...and I hate roads like that, but am so glad we have them! Thank you for the link to my blog!

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    1. Most places I do stuggle with pronouncing but manage eventualy. No problem with the link it's good to know you have been there & I prefer to link to fellow bloggers.

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  7. Hi Bill.. St. David's Glascwm has to be one of the prettiest churches you've shown us, the details are so delicate and lovely.. of course I have a 'thing' for arches and these with the stonework around the edges are particularly appealing. Looking forward to seeing if the other St. David's are similar in style. Once again merci beaucoup for delighting us with the details.

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  8. This church is described in the Rev Francis Kilvert's autobiography "Kilvert's Diary" which was once serialised on television

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  9. Did not realise that and have come across a few churches mentioned I have even tagged them with the Clerics Trail https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8962119626860820391#allposts

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