Hyssington ( cy, Isatyn) is a parish in the South-Eastern corner of the historic county of

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and borders the county of

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

in England. It is now within the area of the

Church Stoke Churchstoke or Church Stoke ( cy, Yr Ystog) is a village, community and electoral ward in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Located in the southeast of the Vale of Montgomery, it is overlooked by Todleth Hill, Roundton Hill and Corndon Hill. The ...

community council in Powys. It is dominated by

Corndon Hill Corndon Hill ( cy, Cornatyn) is a hill in Powys, Mid Wales, whose isolated summit rises to 1,683 ft above sea level. It is surrounded on three sides by the English county of Shropshire and forms a prominent landmark in the Wales-England ...

. The church which is in the Diocese of Hereford lies just the north of a small village and is sited just to the west of a medieval Motte-and-bailey castle. This area was also the source of late

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

and Early Bronze Age battle-axes and axe-hammers, made from picrite that were widely traded around 2000 BC.

Administration

The two townships of Hyssington and Mucklewick, which formed the ecclesiastical parish of Hyssington straddled the

border. In 1884 Mucklewick became part of the parish of Shelve in Shopshire while Hyssington remained in Montgomeryshire. After the creation of the county of Montgomeryshire in 1541, Hyssington was in Halcetor hundred. Hyssington is in the modern Churchstoke

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

and three of the twelve members of Churchstoke Community Council are elected from the Hyssington ward.

Landscape and geography

Quarrying

The Corndon flagstone quarries are on the south western slopes of Corndon Hill and date from Medieval times. From the air the quarries are still a prominent feature in the landscape. In this area the altered Hope Shales of the Ordovician period on the margin of the

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

produce finely laminated flagstones which were widely used on building on the Shropshire-Montgomeryshire border. Only a few buildings still have the flagstones as roofing slates, including the Old Post Office at Churchstoke and the porch to Hurdley Farmhouse. In the survey of Halcetor in 1609 ''a quarry of tile stone'' is mentioned in the ''said fforest of Corndon'' and that it should be let for 20 shillings a year.

Archaeology

Stone Axe Factory (Group XII)

In 1951 Professor F W Shotton of Birmingham University identified the source of the rock used for shafthole battle-axes and axe-hammers as picrite which had been quarried from Corndon Hill. Production sites of stone axes and shafthole implements have been grouped by

petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous and metamorphic petrology are commonly taught together ...

and the Hyssington/Corndon Hill implements are known as Group XII. As the production of these implements in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age did not employed the same flaking techniques as stone axes, which leave recognisable flaking debris, the site or sites of the Corndon Group XII implements production will be very much harder to identitify. However the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust did excavate several small quarry depressions in 2008, but only found evidence of fairly recent disturbance. A stone slab with striations which was suggested was an example of

art, could equally well have been early plough marks The main distribution of Group XII implements is in mid-Wales, the Midlands, the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

and stretching across to East Anglia. By 1988, 93 examples of these implements had been identified and all of these implements have shaftholes for hafting and there are no examples of picrite being used to produce axes.

Hyssington Castle

On Castle Hill. Motte and bailey on a plateau on a small hill. Remains of a 13th-century tower (circa 9 metres square). 30 feet square. Remains of a triangular bailey 70m x 45m. The base of a tower is possibly buried in northern corner of the bailey and in the east corner, traces of a hall remain. The site was visible in 1811, but above ground remains have now disappeared. It has been suggested that this site may be the castle of Snead occupied by Simon de Parcio in 1231, and given by Henry III to William de Bowles in 1233.

Buildings and architecture

Church of St Etheldreda

The church is dedicated to the Saxon Saint Æthelthryth (or ''Æþelðryþe''); about 636 – 23 June 679) is the name for the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

known, particularly in a religious context, as Etheldreda or Audrey. She was an

East Anglian East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom of the Kingdom of East Anglia, East Angles, ...

princess, a Fenland and

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n queen and

Abbess of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of north- ...

. The existence of a Saxon church dedication that is likely to be 7th or 8th century in date and just to the east of Offa's Dyke, which runs through Churchstoke parish must be significant. The dedication should indicated an early Saxon or

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

n settlement and there is a possibility that an earlier Saxon hall or settlement lies under the adjacent Norman motte. According to a local legend, the church has a miniature bull buried beneath the church step. It is said that the bull terrorised the neighbourhood until it was

exorcised Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

by twelve priests. The building is a long single-chambered church with a west bell hanging, rebuilt in 1875 by

Thomas Nicholson Thomas Nicolson or Nicholson may refer to: * Thomas Nicolson of Carnock (died 1646), commissioner for Stirlingshire * Sir Thomas Nicolson, 6th Baronet (died 1693), of the Nicolson baronets * Thomas Nicolson (bishop) (1645–1718), Roman Catholic ...

, the Hereford Diocesan architect. Plain plastered interior with scissor-rafter roof, and wagon roof in the chancel. The font is late medieval, octagonal and quite large. There is a good early 17th century pulpit with intricately carved panels. St. Etheldreda's church has an almost rectangular sloping churchyard, with views over the Shropshire hills. This churchyard contains the

Commonwealth war graves The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mi ...

of four British Army soldiers, three from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and one from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Although physically in Wales, the church at Hyssington is within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Diocese of Hereford. When the

Welsh Church Act 1914 The Welsh Church Act 1914 is an Act of Parliament under which the Church of England was separated and disestablished in Wales and Monmouthshire, leading to the creation of the Church in Wales. The Act had long been demanded by the Nonconformist ...

had been passed to disestablish the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

, Hyssington with Snead parish straddled the

England-Wales border England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Engl ...

. The Welsh Church Commissioners therefore carried out a ballot of parishioners in 1915 to decide whether the parish of Hyssington with Snead should remain part of the Church of England, or form part of the

. The parishioners in Hyssington with Snead voted by 108 to 33 to remain part of the Church of England.

Mission Church, White Grit

So-named after the White Grit lead mines. This is to the North- East of the village and was built to serve the mining community which was just over the border in

. The Mission Church is a corrugated iron tabernacle of the later19th century. It has an

apsidal In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

east end, with Gothic windows and a corrugated iron bellcote. The matchboarded interior with its fittings survives.

Methodist Chapel

Built 1889. In the village South of the church. Small, stone-built with some brick detail.

Houses in Hyssington

* Brynawel is a nicely preserved three-bay house of the later C18; three colour-washed bays with iron casements. * Hyssington Farm is an early 17th-century

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

house with a lobby entry and stellar chimney stack. Three bays, the cross wing with good exposed close-studding. C18 rubble extension to the right. *Cefn, One mile north of the village. Small square-framed house of c.1700. Three-bay front with central entrance, and end chimneys *Great Brithdir, ¾ mile north west. Dated 1695. The stone-built house sits on a masonry platform. Lobby-entry L-plan

Notable residents

In 1973

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in ...

, bass guitarist with rock band the Faces, moved to Fishpool Farm in the village. Beginning to feel the effects of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, however, he moved back to London in the late 70s.

Literature

*Virginia Blanton (2007) ''Signs of Devotion: the cult of St Aethelthryth in medieval England, 695-1615''. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press *Clough T H and Cummins W A, (1988), Stone Axe Studies Vol. 2, ''The petrology of prehistoric stone implements from the British Isles'', CBA Research Report No.67. *Lewis E A (1915), ''A Survey of the Lordship of Halcetor Co Montgomery dated 30th June 1609'' Collections historical & archaeological relating to Montgomeryshire. Vol. 37, pp31–43. *Price, Marilyn A. ''Monumental inscriptions in the parish churchyard of Hyssington, Montgomeryshire''. Basingstoke : M. E. MacSorley, 1996. 22p *Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, (1911), ''Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouth I - County of Montgomery''. *Scourfield R. and Haslam R. (2013), ''The Buildings of Wales: Powys; Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire'', Yale University Press. pp 124–125. *Smith P.(1988, 2nd ed.), ''Houses of the Welsh Countryside'', H.M.S.O. *Williams, J. B. (1910), ''A History of the Parish of Hyssington'' Collections historical & archaeological relating to Montgomeryshire. Vol 35 177–237.

References

External links

*Details on British Listed Building

*Montgomeryshire Churches Survey; Church of St Etheldreda, Hyssingto

Hyssington gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyssington Montgomeryshire Villages in Powys