Derwen, a small hamlet with a population of circa 400, nestles in the lee of Mynydd y Berwyn. North Wales.
No shops: No post office: No pub: No church.
Come, visit Ty Dduw, "The House of God"
St. Mary's, a grade 1 listed building, redundant for use as a "place of worship" since 2000.
As you stroll through the small graveyard you will discover ancient history;
The Preaching Cross, common during the Middle Ages, this example dates from the beginning of the 15th Century. A time when small hamlets were unable, without a wealthy benefactor being around to build them a church. Priests would travel the land, the villagers would gather round, and listen to well; what? marriages and baptisms also took place. .
The remaining well worn, what would have been intricately carved reliefs on the head, depict scenes from their christian bible.
St Mary's is first recorded in 1254 with a given value of 13s 4d. In decimal currency that equates to 67p (I guess about 0.75 euro)!
It underwent major renovation in the mid 19th century, at a cost of £750. It was at this time that the staircase that rose to the Rood Loft was removed.
The rood screen was a feature in medieval churches to separate the choir and chancel area from the worshippers.
A Rood Loft, was often used by travelling minstrels who could assemble themselves for all to see, it may, at at other times have seated the "landed gentry" during service, I guess the higher you are the grander you are the closer you are to your god.
Both these are the original 15th century installations; as are the roof trusses and beams.
I love the way the original slate slab flooring is worn at the entry points to the rows of pews
The two panels of stained glass were fitted during the Victorian restoration, and are in perfect condition, undamaged.
In pristine condition two memorial tablets from the 18th Century. The complicated use in ancient english of using the "long S" which looks like and is misconstrued as an "f"
This intrigued me and a cursory search has left the question unanswered as to why a local man would be serving as a gunner in the army of the USA.
All I can find is that in the 1901 census he lived at Derwen Hall, (intriguing, as he was born in Derwen lancashire). He lived here with his mother and 8 Williamson siblings, another male from Mexico,( listed as a brother, hmmm!!) and 2 servants. there was no record of a father being in the household. A wealthy family.
I wish I stuck to just taking snaps, my curiosity can be so frustrating at times!
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What a beautiful church so much ornate detail and loved the stained glass windows
That and the cross make me feel you took us back in time
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
👍 cheers @tattoodjay
Beautiful selection, lots of details well preserved and some worn away through age and weather.
Curiosity… hhhmmm that’s the thing… sometimes you just want to know 😉
yes @littlebee4 things get very frustrating at times!
😉 it can…
The view behind the Preaching Cross image is stunning, exactly what you'd expect in rural north Wales.
I find these memorials plates are always an interesting way to learn about the locals, especially when it raises more questions than answers like it did for you. And you can run wild with your answers, maybe can write a fiction out of it
thans @livinguktaiwan , yes my feelings exactly re the memorials!!
The inside of this Church is beautiful. The wooden carvings and original trusses, I can't believe they are in such good condition. At least it seems in that part of the world that even old abandoned Churches are respected. I'm not a Church-goer or religious at all, but I do believe that some things should be respected as sacred.
The part about the two men who seem to be revered here at war heros is interesting, I would love to know more, so I can understand your frustration at the conundrum. This kind of thing intrigues me.
Lovely pics, thanks for sharing the exploration.
thanks @andrastia for engaging, yes these churches I am currently visting are all maintained by charity and volunteers, which is great to see. If they were in a big sprawling inner city, I doubt they would be respected and undamaged. I am a pagan, but I get a sense of calm whenever I visit graveyards, and old relics like this,
Hi @grindle
Nice to meet a fellow Pagan. I'm the same, I have respect for others spiritual and religious sites, they are often really beautiful, especially the old ones because people really used to pour a lot of love and hard work into them which is reflecting in places just like this one you found.
Blessed beyes @andrastia i am visiting a lot of these places at the moment, glad you enjoy
The wooden carved figures look very beautiful - it seems very calm and peaceful to me. The windows look great with the colors too.. thanks for taking us to this place!
thanks @katrin-lux for engaging, it was very calm very quiet and very cold!!
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We are headed into North Wales at tne moment on the Llangollan canal!
lovely @scubahead , i hope you enjoy crossing the aquaduct at Pontcysyllte, you will get some great snaps.
Yup looking forward to that. We are up here for 5 weeks so going to, hopefully, wait and cross that in better weather. Its a bit windy and rainy at the mo
yes not the best time to be up in the air with the winds as they are!!!!
Without shops and pubs, it's definitely a peaceful village. I like the ancient look of the houses.
👍
Could you imagine a £750 renovation today?
"We painted 2 out of 4 rooms, Yaaa!"
Or
"We bought some lumber but our budget ran out so we can't actually build anything with it."
🤣😂😂
A church in Wales that looks amazing especially the way it has been preserved, I most loved the stained glass windows and that picture of an old bible.
cheers for engaging @triplug , yes all looked after by volunteers
very nice pictures
👍
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