St Melangell's Church, Pennant Melangell is a small church located on a minor road which joins the B4391 near the village of

Llangynog Llangynog (; ) is a village and community at the confluence of the Afon Eirth and the Afon Tanat at the foot of the Berwyn range in north Powys (previously Montgomeryshire), Wales. It lies at the foot of the Milltir Cerrig mountain pass on t ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It houses the restored shrine of

Saint Melangell Saint Melangell ( la, Monacella) was an Irish people, Irish nun who died in 590. Her feast day is celebrated on 27 May. The daughter of an Irish king, she went to Kingdom of Powys, Powys in central Wales to become a hermit. The prince of Powys, B ...

, reputed to be the oldest Romanesque shrine in Great Britain.

History

The church of St Melangell is set in a circular churchyard, possibly once a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

burial site, ringed by ancient yew trees, which may also predate the Christian era. It sits at the foot of a breast-shaped hill, at the edge of the road on the edge of the

Berwyn mountains The Berwyn range (Welsh: ''Y Berwyn'' or ''Mynydd y Berwyn'') is an isolated and sparsely populated area of moorland in the northeast of Wales, roughly bounded by Llangollen in the northeast, Corwen in the northwest, Bala in the southwest, and ...

. Also located at the site is the restored shrine of St Melangell, which is reputedly the oldest Romanesque

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, dating from the early 12th century. The shrine is known for the story of St Melangell, who is said in the ''Historia Divae Monacellae'' to have hidden a hare in the folds of her cloak to save it from the hounds of Prince Brochwel of Powys: "the pursuing hounds, presumably aware that Melangell's body radiates sanctity, cower and refuse to go near the animal," Jane Cartwright notes, adding, "the power of her virginity protects the creature, since feminine sanctity and virginity are inextricably linked". Though he encouraged his dogs, they could not be urged forward while the virgin remained at prayer, and when his huntsmen went to blow his horn, it stuck to his lips. So impressed was Brochwel by the beauty and courage of this virginal young girl, who had fled from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to avoid a

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

, that he gave her the land in the valley where her church still stands. The hares were locally called "Melangell's lambs". Thus like

Oudoceus Saint Oudoceus (Latin) or Euddogwy (Welsh language, Welsh) (c.536–c.615 or 625) is generally known as the third Bishop of Llandaff in South Wales. In reality he was probably a 7th-century bishop at Llandeilo Fawr. Wendy Davies puts his epi ...

, and

Cybi Saint Cuby (in Cornish) or Saint Cybi (in Welsh) was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'. Life in Cornwal ...

's goat, Melangell "won territory and rights of

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

through such animals." "Until the seventeenth century no one would kill a hare in the parish," Agnes Stonehewer remarked in 1876, "and much later, when one was pursued by dogs, it was firmly believed that if anyone cried 'God and St. Monacella be with thee!' it was sure to escape." The hare is also noted as the animal with local sanctity, that must not be killed in Pennant Melangell, by N. W. Thomas in 1900.

Building

The church consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

in one, an eastern

apse 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''. ...

, and at the west end a tower. The building is oriented slightly north of true east. Roofs consist of slates with stone ridge tiles and the base of a cross finial at the east end. Black ceramic ridge tiles adorn the porch. The church contains a fine 15th-century oak rood screen with carvings that tell the story of Melangell and Prince Brochwel: Pennant Melangell screen

* "First compartment. Brochwel Yscythrog, Prince of Powys, on horseback; his bridle tied on the mane of the horse; both arms extended; in his right hand a sword which he is brandishing. He wears long hair under a flat cap; a close-fitting coat and girdle, both painted red, and sits in the high saddle of the Middle Ages. He is the most distant figure of the series. * The second compartment is partly damaged in the branch-work, but the figure is entire. The huntsman, half-kneeling, tries in vain to remove the horn, which he was raising to his lips for the purpose of blowing it. when it remained fast and could not be sounded. * In the third, St. Melangell, or Monacella, is represented as an abbess; her right hand slightly raised; her left hand grasping a foliated crozier; a veil upon her head. The figure, seated on a red cushion, is larger than that of Brochwel, and smaller than that of the huntsman. * A hunted hare, crouching or scuttling towards the figure of the Saint. The hare is painted red. * A greyhound in pursuit; the legs, entangled among the branches of the running border, can hardly be distinguished from them. The dog is painted of a pale colour. * A nondescript animal, intended, I suppose, for a dog. In this and the 5th compartment the hounds are supposed to be further from the eye than the hare, which is the largest figure in the whole range. * One
tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...
panel lies its gouge-work painted red; the gouge-work of the next is blue; that of the next is red; and so on alternately." The screen itself, on the rood-loft of which the above formed a cornice or frieze, still remains in its position between the chancel and the nave. It comprises four compartments on each side of the doorway, or entrance, which is just double the width of the side divisions; the spandrels are filled with tracery of the same design, and of fourteenth-century character.

There are also two

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

effigies An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

, one of which is thought to represent the saint; a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

font, a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

pulpit, chandelier and commandment board, a series of stone carvings of the hare by the sculptor Meical Watts, and the mysterious Giant's Rib.

Churchyard

The circular churchyard, possibly once a Bronze Age burial site, is ringed by ancient yew trees, which may also predate the Christian era. It contains the

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

of three British Army soldiers of

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 ...

.
CWGC Cemetery report.

Church services

St Melangell's Church has always been a Pilgrims' Church, attracting visitors come from all over Britain and beyond. Sunday services are held throughout the year at 3.00 p.m., an informal liturgy. On Thursday the

Holy Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

is at noon throughout the year. There is a tradition of serving tea and cake following the Sunday afternoon service. File:St. Monacella, or, Pennant Melangel Church, 1795.jpg, Pennant Melangell Church painted in 1795 image:Church tower at Pennant Melangell.JPG, Church tower at Pennant Melangell with the breast-shaped hill in the background image:Grave Aspe Sante Melangell.JPG, Grave Apse. image:Valley dawn at Pennant Melangell.JPG, Valley dawn at Pennant Melangell. image:Sante Melangell shrine.JPG, A corner of St Melangell's shrine, the floor covered with hundreds of prayer cards. image:Cysegr_Melangell.JPG, Shrine of St Melangell. image:Wici Iorwerth ap Drwyndwn.jpg, Grave of

Iorwerth Drwyndwn Iorwerth mab Owain Gwynedd (or Iorwerth Drwyndwn meaning "the flat-nosed"), (c. 1130–1174), was the eldest legitimate son of Owain Gwynedd (the king of Gwynedd) and his first wife Gwladys (Gladys) ferch Llywarch. He married Marared ferch Madog. ...

Footnotes

References