St Cedwyn's Church, Llangedwyn
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Llangedwyn Llangedwyn is a village and community (Wales), community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The population of the community at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 402. The community includes the hamlet of . It lies in the Afon Tanat ...
was formerly in the historic county of Denbighshire but since 1996 has been within the
Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...
Shire Area of
Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
, Wales. St Cedwyn's was a chapel of ease of
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant () is a village and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales; about 9 miles west of Oswestry and 12 miles south of Llangollen, on the B4580 road. It lies near the foothills of the Berwyn range, Berwyn mountains on the r ...
. Llangedwyn is 7 miles south-west of Oswestry and to the south 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, ...
. Saint Cedwyn may have been a son of the 5th century saint and princess Saint Madryn. The church was extensively restored in 1869–70 by
Benjamin Ferrey Benjamin Ferrey List of Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA (1 April 1810 – 22 August 1880) was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic revival architecture, Gothic Re ...
under the patronage of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn of Llangedwyn Hall, but incorporates medieval masonry in its west and east walls, and also retains a Romanesque-revival porch of c.1840, very probably by
Thomas Penson Thomas Penson, or Thomas Penson the younger, (c. 1790 – 1859) was the county surveyor of Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire, and an innovative architect and designer of a number of masonry arch bridges over the River Severn and elsewhere. Fa ...
. Further restoration was undertaken by Herbert Luck North before 1907, including the addition of a dormer window to the roof on the north side.


Architecture

There is no external differentiation between the nave and chancel. The north wall has re-used stone at lower levels; there are also two horizontal bands of dressed sandstone (probably Cefn stone) blocks along the complete length of wall. Three Gothic windows with two lights and a quatrefoil are above, in pale sandstone. There are hoodmoulds with head stops, all different. There are two buttresses with ornamented coping stones. The east or chancel window has three stepped, lancet lights under a
two-centred arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown meet at an angle at the top of the arch. Also known as a two-centred arch, its form is derived from the intersection of two circles. This architectural element was partic ...
and a hoodmould with foliate stops, and above this is a relieving arch of dressed freestone. On the south wall are three windows, two with paired lancet lights, and one triple. A single horizontal band of dressed freestone is comparable with the north wall of the nave. The west wall has considerable amounts of re-used stone. The vestry on the south side has square-headed doorway, and the east side has a window in a similar style. The porch is in roughcast render on the wall faces, and pilaster buttresses at the four corners with a blind arcaded window in Romanesque revival style. The Romanesque-style doorway is in terracotta and brick, with eaves courses in the same material. The west wall has Romanesque-style windows and considerable amounts of re-used stone. The roof has a dormer window added by Herbert Luck North.


Romanesque-revival porch c. 1840

This is one of the most interesting features of the church. It has been attributed to
Thomas Penson Thomas Penson, or Thomas Penson the younger, (c. 1790 – 1859) was the county surveyor of Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire, and an innovative architect and designer of a number of masonry arch bridges over the River Severn and elsewhere. Fa ...
, an
Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...
architect, who was a pioneer in the use of
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
in architecture. The detailing of the terracotta moldings match exactly those on the rebuilt church at
Llanymynech Llanymynech is a village and former civil parish straddling the Wales-England border, border between Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh language, Welsh for "Llan (placename), L ...
. The porch is likely to be one of the first examples of the revival in the use of terracotta for architectural decoration. Penson's churches, which include
Christ Church, Welshpool Christ Church, Welshpool was commissioned by the Earl of Powis to commemorate his son, Edward James, the Viscount Clive, having come of age. It was designed by Thomas Penson and completed 1839–44. The church is characterised by its impressive ...
, and St David's Newtown, are built in 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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
or Romanesque style. The terracotta is likely to have been made in the nearby brickyards at Trefonen which are sited on the Oswestry coalfield. This porch is likely to be an experimental example of the use of terracotta, before Penson went on to construct larger churches using terracotta for decorative purposes.


Interior and furnishings

The church is entered by the west porch. This has an octagonal medieval font, a wooden poorbox dated 1741, and on the west side, a painted creed,
decalogue The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...
and Lord's prayer, all in English. On the north side is a small wood and copper war memorial with
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
detailing by the Arts and Crafts designer J.H.M. Bonnor. (Bonnor died in 1916, but the memorial was carried out by his staff at
Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...
.) There are also Bonnor family tombstones to his design in the churchyard, and family memorials in the church. The pulpit to the left is in C17 oak panelling. To the south west of the nave is an octagonal Gothic font of 1875, on clustered black supporting
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
s. There is a large collection of monuments, including many to the Williams-Wynn and Bonnor families. To the left of the east window is a monument in figured marble with an open pediment and arms, to Edward Vaughan (1718) adopted heir of Edward Vaughan of Llwydiarth. The style of this monument has been copied in the later Williams-Wynn monument on the south side. Bonnor of Brynygwalia memorials are mostly on the west wall.


Churchyard

The churchyard at Llangedwyn is now an irregular 'butterfly' shape, due to extensions on both the south in 1870 and the east (in 1905 and later). Originally, it may have had an elliptical form but the outline has been modified through time, and the best traces of its curvilinear nature are fossilised on the south-eastern side. It occupies flat ground on the edge of the northern terrace of the
River Tanat The River Tanat, also known as , is a river in northern Powys, Wales. Its source is close to the Cyrniau Nod mountain, to the north of Lake Vyrnwy. The river flows in a generally east-south-east direction until it joins the River Vyrnwy near L ...
, though well back from the river, at a place where a small stream runs off the hill to the north. It is well maintained and interments continue in the north-western sector of the original churchyard. A low, spread bank, 0.3m high, surmounted by three yews, represents the former boundary on the east. To the south of the church is a natural scarp nearly 2m high which almost certainly functioned as the earliest boundary on this side. Gravestones are well spaced on the north and west, and more closely packed on the south and in the extensions. Slate memorials of the 19th century predominate, but there is a table tomb of 1734 to the east of the chancel. The most interesting feature is the ring headed cross slab set against the east wall of the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
. It is said to have been discovered in the walling of the old church taken down in 1869. This should be 10th century or earlier in date. The churchyard contains two
CWGC 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 mil ...
registered war graves, a soldier of the
Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...
of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and an officer of the 1st Royal Dragoons of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(Lieutenant Watkin Williams-Wynn, son of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 8th Baronet
CWGC Casualty record, Lieutenant Watkin Williams-Wynn (died 1946).).


References


Literature

* Hubbard, E. (1986). ''Buildings of Wales: Clwyd.'' Peguin/Yale U.P. pp. 214–215 * Stratton, M. (1993) ''The Terracotta Revival : Building Innovation and the Image of the Industrial City in Britain and North America.'' London : Gollancz. *Thomas, D. R. 1908 (2nd ed.) ''The History of the Diocese of St Asaph'', Caxton Press, Oswestry, vol. 2 p. 235 * Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, ''Inventory of Denbighshire'' (1914) p. 113


External links


Cpat: Montgomeryshire Churches Survey

British Listed Buildings: Wales
*
RCAHMW The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...
, Coflein â€
photographs of monuments in the church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llangedwyn, Saint Cedwyn's Church Romanesque Revival church buildings in the United Kingdom Thomas Penson buildings and structures Grade II listed churches in Powys Church in Wales church buildings in Powys Gothic Revival church buildings in Wales