Church of St Issui, Partrishow, near Abergavenny, Powys Church of St Issui sits in the southern hills of the Brecon Beacons National Park/ Credit: Geograph Check out one of the south-aisle windows: it contains the oldest glass in the Principality. Services here are rare, but everyone is welcome on the second Sunday in December for carol singing. The oldest surviving church in Wales, St Rhychwyn's Church, Llanrhychwyn, sits shyly behind a screen of trees in a farmer’s field. Eglwys Sant Rhychwyn, Llanrhychwyn, Conwy Eglwys Sant Rhychwyn, Llanrhychwyn, Conwy/Credit: Wikimedia, Llywelyn2000 Look for the 6th-century gravestone embedded in the south sanctuary window. A Grade I-listed building, this bleakly beautiful medieval church is just 20m from the high-water mark and features large whitewashed walls. ‘ The church in the sand’ in Llandanwg lies to the south of Harlech Castle and overlooks Cardigan Bay. St Tanwg Church, Gwynedd The Parish church of St Tanwg, located in the dunes at Llandanwg/ Credit: Getty It would have been clearly visible to the early Christians who travelled here in small wooden boats in search of wilderness and solitude, many of whom went on to found churches that bore their own names. It’s possible that a stone cross once stood on Foel-y-Mwnt in the 5th or 6th century. That it’s dedicated to a cross rather than a saint suggests antiquity. Sheltering from brutal south-westerlies beneath Foel-y-Mwnt hill is Eglwys y Grog, the Church of the Holy Cross. Church of the Holy Cross, Mwnt, Ceredigion Church at Mwnt on the Ceredigion coast path/Credit: Getty Parts of the building may date from the 12th century. Best rural churches in Wales St Cwyfan’s Church-in-the-Sea, Anglesey St Cwyfan’s Church-in-the-Sea, Anglesey/Credit: GettyĪn intriguing stone rubble, single-cell parish church set on a tiny islet restricted to its churchyard, now revetted by a dramatic, high stone wall. A neat Gothic church with a square tower, the kirk sits on a hill overlooking the River Dee and is full of fascinating royal history, including windows donated by Queen Victoria. Crathie Kirk Church, Aberdeenshire Crathie Kirk on the Balmoral Estate/Credit: Gettyīuilt from local granite with a Scots pine roof, Crathie Kirk may look humble but – being down the road from Balmoral Castle – it has been a place of worship and solace for British royalty for more than 150 years. Seek refuge from the cold inside the church then venture into the Highlands on a walk past the wizards’ railway to a lonely mountain pass. It dusts frozen puddles, crunches beneath feet and petrifies plants. Frost envelops everything: the pine trees, the mountain ridges, the church’s pitched roof. In autumn and winter, as day breaks from a cloudless night, the glen is particularly magical. Gothic in style, the Church of St Mary and St Finnan stands like a stoical watchman over the mountain-flanked waters of Loch Shiel, surely one of Britain’s most enchanting landscapes. St Mary and St Finnan, Glenfinnan, Highland Glenfinnan's church sits on the shores of Loch Shiel/Credit: Neilgiven Cryptic reports of their sad story were later etched on the church windows by unknown hands. Evicted in 1845 during the notorious Highland Clearances, 80 people lived temporarily in the Croick churchyard. Ten miles up the lonely Strathcarron valley, this humble utilitarian church is forever linked to a group who became refugees in their own land – a fate echoed in the Christmas story. Best rural churches in Scotland Croick Church, Sutherland Croick church in Sutherland/Credit: John Ferguson They provide a place to shelter, a chance to learn about the local community and a glimpse into the history of the surrounding landscape.Ītmospheric, beautiful and mysterious, Britain’s rural churches are an extraordinary national treasure.įrom towering cathedrals to tiny chapels, here's our expert guide to some of the best country churches to visit in the UK. Go for a walk in the British countryside and it's likely that you'll come across a rural church. The landscape of the UK is defined not just by its hills, rivers, woods and farmland, but by its buildings, and none more so than the historic centrepiece of almost every village and small town: the parish church.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |