St David Llanynis

This is the last of the Builth Wells Group of churches I that I am due to visit and one of the most remote you can find in the area being in a bend in the River Irfon at the end of a dirt track. The church may date back to Medieval  times but not trace of brickwork remains as it had been rebuilt on numerous occasions and the Victorian restoration seems to have lost all traces. Som history of the CPAT Site
"The location, the original shape of the church yard and the former dedication to St Llyr all point to an early medieval origin, though needless to say there is no documentary evidence to support this. Local tradition has it that Llewelyn attended mass here before he was killed at nearby Cilmery in 1282.          

The St Davids' Episcopal Register contains an entry for Llanynys in 1400, and the Valor Ecclesiasticus in 1535 records a value of  £7 0s 7d for the church.

There are records of the building being repaired or even extensively rebuilt in 1687, again in c.1778, and in 1894. This last restoration may have seen the removal of what was classed as a fine oak screen.

A clearance and renovation scheme in the early 1970s, apparently saved the church from permanent closure, but may have removed earthwork remains of the earlier churchyard."

It was a very overcast day when I visited the church

Above St David's church  from across the track leading to it.
Left the path to the church itself

The West end wall of the church with bellcote















The East end with small window

The North side of the church

Looking West towards the porch on the South Side
Left the Bellcote

Above the porch and inside the entrance door

Inside the church was very light from the larger windows on the North side
Right the Altar rails

Above the Altar and altar cross with the Stained Glass window behind

Looking back up the church to the vestry at the back

The pulpit

Above a view from the pulpit
Left a prayer desk in front of a small organ

One of the two banks of Choir Stalls

Above Left the only item that may be Medieval is the font. Right 

In case you wondered the church has no  lighting so candles are needed
Could not tell you the age of the chest which my gear is laid on

A Roll of Honour Plaque a sad reminder of the past

Memorial to the Bevan family

The memorials are of around the 1800s though some are fadeing

Above memorial to Watin and Elzabeth Bevan
Right a more modern slate memorial to Hampden Inskip

One to Cranley and June Onslow

The one thing that stands out in the church on the South side are the two stained glass windows

They are stunning.

The second with St David at the top shows the pretension in the Temple

It's the detail that struck me

Above The top showing St David
Left a more detailed shot of the faces in the window which may well be St Mary and her Husband

Detail showing the other couple in the window. Could this be Joseph and Mary with an offering

Above a simple wooden cross and book support

One of the gas lamps in the church

Outside the churchyard looks quite sparse

with many old headstones around

This one I could find no details on though it looked very interesting

The headstones all are covered in Lichen

Down the West end of the churchyard is a more modern family grave

and a cross that is covered in water staining. The stone on the family Grave.

Around the East end of the church are a few miss placed headstone leaning against the wall

some are readable

Over by the boundary are a few more either miss placed or fallen over

The older ones have just eroded with time and the covering of lichen

The most recent is this birdbath

a Memorial placed here in 2005

I will leave you this week with a View of the bird bath memorial with St David in the Background
Do have a wonderful weekend