The Church Mouse - Issue 3

save thyself, and them that hear thee. (I Timothy 4: 14,16)Tenby S

In this issue We take a look at the tiny chapel of St Trillo in North Wales, then journey to Orkney where we visit the great Norman Cathedral in Kirkwall.

We examine the role of the sacred well in the Celtic church and view the last resting place of a princess.

The glossary of church buildings continues

It may not be the biggest or the most famous but it’s...

St Trillo's Chapel Standing on the on the foreshore at Rhos-on-Sea, protected by the modern promenade and sea wall, is the tiny chapel of Saint Trillo. Said to be the smallest church in the British Isles, it has room for six people.

The simple stone building with integral walls and roof and has a heavy wooden door dates from the sixth century. As we see it today however, it is a Victorian restoration with renewed external walls and roof.

The altar is directly over a pre-Christian sacred holy well; the pure water of the well or spring providing both water for )ritual use and the saint’s personal needs. The water is still used for baptisms in the parish. which has two other churches. Like may such wells it has a reputation for healing.

Trillo's brother Tygai and their sister Llechid both founded churches: Llandygai, near Penrhyn, Bangor and Llanllechid a little further toward the mountains.

http://www.issuu,com/the-captain Email: magazines@post.com ©2016. The Captain's Library Issue 3 Autumn 2016 The Church Mouse is published as an e-magazine and no paper version is available. You may, however, print a copy for your own use.

Published as A4, but will fit “letter”.

Dunkeld and Kirkwall Cathedrals.

During a tour of Scotland I visited two cathedrals that, mainly because of the impact of the reformation in Scotland, are no longer in use as cathedrals. On the way to the Orkneys we had an overnight stop in Dunkeld. Dunkeld Cathedral, an abbey foundation, suffered much during the reformation and the later 17th century periods, eventually losing not only the statuary and interior fittings, but also the roof from the nave and porch. In spite of the destruction the local people continued to worship in the choir. This part of the church, which is much restored, continues to be used as the parish church.

For me, however, the highlight of the tour was the visit to Kirkwall. Kirkwall Cathedral is a magnificent building built from two colours of sandstone. It is thought that the master masons were trained at Durham Cathedral and there are certainly many similarities. It is dedicated to St. Magnus and was built, primarily as a resting place for his relics, by his nephew St. Rognvald. .Construction started in 1137. During restoration work in 1919 the bones of both St Magnus and St Rognvald were found immured and after the work was completed they were returned to their unique resting place in the pillars. Also notable is the collection of gravestones with ‘memento mori’ depicting not only the ubiquitous skull and bones but also guttering candles, tolling bells, hourglass and grave-diggers' spades. One Latin inscription reads "mors patet, hora latet, memento mori" (death awakes, the hours slip away, remember death...)

Also unique is the fact that the building does not belong to any Church, but to the people of Kirkwall and the Orkneys. It was, of course, a Roman Catholic cathedral in the beginning (in the arch-diocese of Trondheim in Norway). After the reformation it remained a Cathedral, the last protestant bishop left in 1688. It is now a place of worship for the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), but still owned by the people of the islands.

We often say that the church is the people not the building, but I cannot escape the feeling that these ancient buildings have absorbed something from the devotion of worshippers through the centuries. After visiting Kirkwall I also grasp the thought that it is a good idea for the community as a whole to have an ownership of the heritage.

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Princess Joan In the parish church, Saint Mary and Saint Nicholas, in Beaumaris is the coffin of a princess. Siwan or Joan was the daughter of King John of England and the wife of Llewelyn the Great.

The sarcophagus has had a varied history and poor Siwan got lost somewhere in its travels. When Siwan died in 1237 she was buried at the abbey in Llanfaes. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries Llanfaes, like many other ecclesiastical foundations, became a convenient source of stone for the local people. The lid found its way to Beaumaris. Eventually the cofďŹ n itself found a resting place at the Bulkeley estate at Baron Hill. ‘Antiquarian’ follies were fashionable in the eighteenth century and a temple was built to house the cofďŹ n of the princess. Alas, the estate became neglected and nothing now remains of the mansion. Sometime in the interim period, the cofďŹ n was removed from its ‘folly’. It was found, being used as a horse trough, before being reunited with its lid in the nineteenth century and placed here in the church porch.

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Fish Ponds The fish pond was an essential part of the medieval monastic settlement. Not only did they supply fish for Holy Days, but they were a vital source of protein. They ranged greatly in size and form as, of course, abbeys and other religious establishments did.

Most were, as the name suggests, simple ponds others were large and required careful and extensive management. The main consideration was that there was water flowing into the pond.

Under ideal circumstances fish required no feeding and were available all year round. There could be a series of ponds, enabling movement of the fish as they grew. Another form was the stew or stew pond, this a body of fresh water in which to store fish caught elsewhere.

The Bishops of Bangor took the idea a stage further by effectually making the Menai Straits a fish pond. Tidal fish-traps were built on an island in the straits, now known as Ynys Gorad Goch (Red fish-trap island) together with a smoke house and a residence for the keeper. This ensured a continual supply of fish for the Cathedral clergy and staff.

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St Winefride The Legend (Some background to the article on page 6)

The legend of Saint Winefride tells how, in AD 660, Caradoc, the son of a local prince, severed the head of the young Winifred after she spurned his advances.

A spring rose from the ground at the spot where her head fell and she was later restored to life by her uncle, Saint Beuno.

The well is has been a pilgrimage site since the 7th century and sometimes called "the Lourdes of Wales" . After a shrine was established in Shrewsbury around 1138, it and St. Winefride's Well (from her name's Latin spelling) became important pilgrimage destinations. (Ellis Peters bases her Brother Cadfael stories, starting with ‘A Morbid Taste for Bones’, on this) Most of the present structure at Holywell dates from the 16 th Century. Statues and portrayals of Winefride depict her with her head crudely sewn back on.

It is not surprising that, with such a legend, that healing powers were attributed to her.

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Preserving Mediaeval Graffiti.

Dick Eastman We have all read about the Middle Ages, right? A time of kings, princes, knights and fair damsels in distress. It is a vision of the past that includes the splendour of great cathedrals and the brooding darkness of mighty castles. A past of banquets and battles.

There’s only one thing wrong with that vision: 95% of the people were not a part of it. Most men, women and children were commoners. 95 per cent of the population performed about 99% of the work. This undoubtedly includes your ancestors and mine.

We rarely read about the 95% of the population who were common people. With low levels of literacy throughout much of the Middle Ages, these people did not leave written records behind. The few texts that described the common people were actually written and compiled by the priests, scribes and lawyers of the elite. They refer to the lower orders, but are most certainly not in their own words. However, many of these common folks did leave something written behind: graffiti.

Specialists have been studying mediaeval church graffiti for many decades. But new digital imaging technologies, and the recent establishment of numerous volunteer recording programmes, have transformed its scope and implications. The inscriptions number in the hundreds of thousands, and they are opening an entire new world of research.

You can read more about the lifestyles of the Middle Ages in an article by Matthew Champion in the AEON.co web site at https://goo.gl/OIWgqC.

This article appears by the kind permission of Dick Eastman, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter ‌ www.eogn.com

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Many of the Celtic saints and their churches have holy wells associated with them. Every saint would have to have his cell near a supply of water, so it is probable that they all had a well or spring that was linked to them. It is equally possible that many of these were ancient sacred spots, for we know that the early Christian teachers took sites that were already in use and ‘Christianised’ them.

Three coins in a fountain ...”, were the first words of a song that was popular some years ago. The song came from a film and the fountain was the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

It could have been any fountain, pool or ‘wishing well’, for wherever there is water people have an urge to toss coins in it. So you will see coins in the holy wells such as St Seiriol’s and St Cyngar’s; it also encourages charity fund-raisers to set up ‘wishing wells’ This has been happening for centuries and appears to go back to the votive offerings that our ancestors offered to the deity or spirit. The fissures in the rocks and the openings in the ground, that mysteriously gave the pure water vital to life, were seen as portals to the other world -Annwn. The meagre offerings of small coins that we throw into the pool would not, of course, been seen as sufficient by the ancients.

Many of these springs were reputed to have healing properties. One outstanding example is that which gives the town of Holywell (Treffynnon) its name - St Winefride's. The spring itself is housed in a shrine and feeds a large pool in which the pilgrims bathe. St Winefride's Well has been a site of Christian pilgrimage since the middle of the 17th century, the town bills itself as The Lourdes of Wales. Many pilgrims continue to visit Holywell and the Well as they have done through the centuries. The museum on the site has a vast collection of sticks and crutches discarded by those claiming to have been healed. When I visited a little while ago we were welcomed by a volunteer who enthusiastically testified to her own healing experience.

In the old Celtic legends many wells or springs had a guardian spirit, a fish- trout, eel or salmon- or some other creature living in them. The old well of St Dwynwen, now sadly dry and derelict, is said to have been home to an undying eel which granted the wishes of lovers. A mixture of the old religion and Christianity.

Today many of these old water sources are difficult to find, whilst others are still quite prominent remaining much as they have for centuries: St Trillo’s, as mentioned in another article, is beneath the altar of his chapel; St Seirol’s in its own little cell at Penmon.

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Apse. A semi-circular or polygonal area beyond the choir and altar of a church or where the altar is placed .

Buttress: A buttress is a structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall, although in modern buildings they are often more decorative than structuralism. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (sideways) forces arising out of the roof structures that lack adequate bracing A flying buttress (see illustration) provides an extra thrust.

Bishop's

Chair

or

Throne:

see

Cathedra Belfry: A structure enclosing bells for ringing usually as part of a bell tower or steeple Bell cote: A small framework and shelter for one or more bells.

A typical Welsh one is illustrated Bell tower: A tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. Usually part of a church and contains church bells.

Boss: Wooden or stone knobs which can often be found in ceilings especially at the keystones at the intersections of a rib vault. Such roof or ceiling bosses are often carved with foliage, heraldic devices or other decorations. Many feature animals, birds, or human figures or faces, sometimes realistic, but often grotesque: the Green Man is a frequent subject.

Chancel: From the Latin cancelli ("grating, lattice"). In classic church design, an area of pews, seats, stalls or prayer desks between the nave and the sanctuary, used by the ministers leading services and sometimes used by the choir (thus, it is sometimes known as the choir).

Chapel: From the Latin cappella ("cape"). When the kings of France went on military campaigns, they would carry the cape of St. Martin with them. The tent or other temporary structure that housed the cappella was called a chapel.

A chapel now often refers to a small building or room set apart for worship and meditation. It may also refer to a place of worship lacking a parish congregation (although chapels may have a permanent clergyman), such as at hospitals, colleges, etc. Chapels may be large or small, private or institutional. Also a non-conformist place of worship.

Chapter House: A building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in meetings of the chapter or other similar body are held. Usually the chapter hose is circular or polygonal with seating around the wall .

Choir (quire) see Chancel Corbel: A structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a weight, often a roof truss.

A Glossary of Church Architecture (continued) Clerestory: A high section of wall that contains windows, usually in the nave above the aisles. The purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both Cloister; (from Latin claustrum, "enclosure") is a covered walk or arcade enclosing a quadrangle. A cloister usually indicates that a cathedral or church is or was part of a monastic foundation.

Credence Table: A small table or shelf that holds the bread, wine and water before consecration.

Crossing: The main intersection of aisles at the front of the church building. If viewed from above, these aisles form a large cross (see Transept).

Crypt: From the Latin crypta "vault". A stone chamber beneath the floor of a church. In the past was often used for burials and may contain coffins, tombs or religious relics.

The Glossary will continue in the next issue In the next issue.

The Round Church in Bowmore on the Isle of Islay is said to have been built in that way so that the Devil couldn’t find a corner to hide in.

In our next issue we visit the churches in the Pembrokeshire town of Tenby and nearby Caldey Island. We will be taking a look at the Chapel Royal in Hampton Court Palace. Chapter Houses will be a featured article

VIDEO: https://goo.gl/qJFi4B

The third part of the Glossary and the features that are beginning to establish themselves, such as ‘Curiosities’ will, of course, be in.

Hopefully Issue 4 will be available sometime in October.

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THE ROUND CHURCH, BOWMORE