The Church of St Brynach, Nevern, Pembrokeshire

(Click photos to enlarge).

The small village of Nevern lies just a few miles east of Newport in Pembrokeshire, and is well worth a visit for a number of reasons. Its church has some very interesting features, whilst a short walk away from the church is the Pilgrims' Cross (which I shall feature in a separate post).

The church of St Brynach is said to date back to the 6th Century. That is not to say that all of the building we see today is from that era. The tower in the first photo is a Norman addition.


To the east of the porch stands the Vitalianus Stone. Believed to date back to the 5th Century the stone features both Ogham and Latin inscriptions (VITALIANI EMERETO in Latin, and VITALIANI in Ogham).


A short distance further to the east stands a magnificient "Celtic" cross known simply as the Great Cross. This is thought to date to the 10th or 11th Centuries.


Standing at 13 feet in height the Great Cross is believed to be one of the most perfect specimens of its kind.


Inside the church in the nave there are a pair of stones embedded into the window sills.

The first is known as the Maglocunus Stone and again we see more Ogham and (fainter at the top) Latin inscriptions. The translation reads "(THE MONUMENT) OF MAGLOCUNUS (MAELGWN) SON OF CLUTORIUS".


In the adjacent window sill there is embedded the Cross Stone. This shows a form of "Celtic" cross made of intertwining cords, and resembling a prone human figure.


Outside again and on the north wall of the church on the sill of the second chancel window, we find the so-called "Imperfect Incised Stone". You can just make out a few letters from a vertical Latin inscription that has been turned through 90 degrees and is most likely an example of a stone being re-cut and re-used.


Finally, in the avenue of yew trees leading from the gate to the porch, there is one particular yew tree that has a legend all of its own. Known as the Bleeding Yew, this tree has been "bleeding" its red sticky sap from a lower limb for as long as everyone can remember. The legend apparently is that the tree will bleed "until a Welshman is once again Lord of the castle on the hill". As a small child I remember visiting this tree and the story I heard at the time was that the blood was supposed to be (or represent) the blood of Christ. I cannot back up this alternate "legend" as it was only hearsay or perhaps being only six or seven years old at the time I got the wrong end of the stick.


However, I was somewhat alarmed to discover on this visit that the branch in question has been removed, but as can clearly be seen in my photo above there are two openings in the stump of the missing branch through which the sap has been flowing.

Date visited: 13 February 2009

The Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border

(click photos to enlarge).

Yesterday I visited The Rollright Stones in North Oxfordshire near to the village of Long Compton.


The stones are actually split over three separate sites:

The stone circle is popularly known as The King's Men and is thought to date back to late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. It is 33 metres in diameter and consists of about 70 stones.


It is said that you cannot accurately count the stones that make up The King's Men, as the total will be different each time. We tried this on a previous visit and indeed we had trouble deciding on a total - but part of the problem is deciding what constitutes a single stone where perhaps a stone has cracked or been broken, or else where what appears to be two stones might just be the same stone beneath the surface.



The Whipsering Knights (above) appear to be a small grouping of standing stones huddled together as if holding a private conversation; it is believed that this formation is the remains of a collapsed burial chamber. There are four uprights and a large recumbent stone which was probably the capstone. These are situated to the east of The King's Men and just a short walk away.


Finally, just over the road from The King's Men and over the county border too and into Warwickshire, is a lone standing stone called The King's Stone (above). It is a very peculiar shape, although this is partly because in the days before it had a fence erected around it vistors would chisel off chunks of it to keep as souvenirs!


In the past The Rollright Stones were one of the few ancient monuments that I have visited where you have to pay a (small) entry fee. I have absolutely no problem with this. The fee, of course, went to the upkeep of the site. There used to be a hut at the entrance where an affable old gentleman would take your entrance fee and would tell you about the stones should you have any questions. He would even lend you a pair of divining rods if your interests and beliefs lay in that direction.


But unfortunately we live in sorry times. The old man and the hut have gone. The old man has sadly died and the hut was burnt down by vandals. Vandals have attacked the stones on various occasions, covering them in yellow paint on one occasion, and burning them on others. Obviously, these acts of mindless destruction mean expensive and painstaking clean-up work. What I find most alarming is that these are not random acts of vandalism but that they must have been pre-meditated. Someone has specifically made the journey with the express intention of attacking the stones.


On this visit there was no-one collecting entry fees. I didn't even see a box for donations.I am hoping that the Rollright Trust and/or the Friends of The Rollright Stones have not thrown in the towel and given up. I thought they had been doing an excellent job. What other group of stones has its own website? I like that you can download an audio tour and play it on you iPod as you walk around the stones.

To sum up, this is a lovely site which needs your support.

Date visted: 17 January 2009

See also:

• The Rollright Stones Official Site
  
• The Rollright Stones: The King's Men on The Modern Anitquarian
  
• The Rollright Stones: The Whispering Knights on The Modern Anitquarian
  
• The Rollright Stones: The King's Stone on The Modern Anitquarian
  
• The Rollright Stones on Wikipedia
  
• "Summer Solstice at the Rollright Stones" on YouTube - Arthur "I am the god of hellfire" Brown investigates!

The Ogham Stone, Glandwr Chapel, Pembrokeshire

(Click photos to enlarge)

In the last couple of weeks I've visited various standing stones and sites around Pembrokeshire in Wales, but the one which I'm featuring in today's post was the easiest to visit for me personally seeing as my parents live in this very village.

The Ogham Stone is to be found in the grounds of the chapel in a village called Glandwr, situated at the foot of the Preseli mountains, and with the nearest town being Crymych.

As can be seen in the above picture on the left hand edge of the stone when looked at from this angle there are a series of Ogham markings cut into the stone. Unfortunately I can't translate these for you. One theory I have heard is that Ogham is actually a musical notation.

Just behind the Ogham Stone is another little curiosity that the visitor might like to take a look at, although this time it's hardly ancient.
The gravestone of Lewis Phillips states - in Welsh - that he died on June 31, 1900. Now how does that rhyme go again?... Thirty days have September, April, June and November...

Date visited: 31 December 2008

See also: Glandwr Churchyard on The Modern Antiquarian