St Teilo's Church, St Fagans National History Museum

St Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...

's Church is a historic building originally located at Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont near

Pontarddulais Pontarddulais (), also known as Pontardulais (), is both a community and a town in Swansea, Wales. It is northwest of the city centre. The Pontarddulais ward is part of the City and County of Swansea. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hendy i ...

and now reconstructed at

St Fagans National History Museum St Fagans National Museum of History ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, links=no), commonly referred to as St Fagans St Fagans ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan) is a village and community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. I ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales.

History

The church is thought to have been built in the 12th or 13th century. It was used regularly until 1850, subsequently used only for a few services during the summer months.BBC News – South-East Wales: "Archbishop opens medieval church", 14 October 2007
Accessed 26 September 2013 As recently as the early 20th century,

coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the West Country and in Ireland, particularly the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used of s ...

s were used by worshippers to reach the church in its location beside the

River Loughor The River Loughor () ( cy, Afon Llwchwr) is a river in Wales which marks the border between Carmarthenshire and Swansea. The river is sourced from an underground lake at the Black Mountain emerging at the surface from Llygad Llwchwr which trans ...

. It went out of use in 1970 and began to be demolished in 1984 in readiness for the move to

St Fagans St Fagans ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan) is a village and community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum. History The name of the area invokes Saint Fagan, according to William of Malm ...

. Prior to the removal of the church, wall paintings were discovered showing through in places beneath the plaster. When the church began to be dismantled, the paintings were first removed and preserved; the oldest of them was a mural of

St Catherine St. Catherine or St. Katherine may refer to a number of List of saints named Catherine, saints named Catherine, or: Geography Canada *St. Catharines, a city in Ontario *St. Catharines (electoral district), federal *St. Catharines (provincial ele ...

, believed to date from the 15th century.

Reconstruction

It was rebuilt and redecorated as it would have appeared in about 1530. The new roof timbers were sourced from Northeast Wales and a new rood screen and a loft were carved from

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

by the project's head carpenter, Ray Smith MBE. The missing sections of the wall paintings were reconstructed from what was left. Around one-third of the paintings now displayed are reconstructions of those discovered under the wall-plaster, the originals having been preserved and held by the

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. The remainder were devised by experts, based on paintings known from other churches. One of the original paintings represented the Holy Trinity, with God the Father seated in majesty behind a crucifix. The head of the king is believed to be modelled on King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, a theory supported by a representation on the opposite wall of Henry's seal.St Fagan's National History Museum – St Teilo's Church Reconstruction Project: Wall Paintings
Accessed 29 September 2013 The church was the 41st building to be opened to the public at the museum. It was officially reopened by the then

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, Dr

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

, in 2007.

References

External links

* – Film of the church in its original location * {{coord, 51.48794, -3.28026, type:landmark_region:GB, format=dms, display=title 12th-century establishments in Wales Churches in Cardiff St Fagans National Museum of History Rebuilt church buildings in Wales Relocated buildings and structures in Wales