Places of historical interest Trellech

1 places of historical interest

1.1 church of st nicholas

1.1.1 sundial


1.2 harold s stones
1.3 tump terret , court farm
1.4 virtuous well

places of historical interest
church of st nicholas


st nicholas church

the anglican parish church has been designated grade listed building since 19 november 1953, , described joseph bradney 1 of largest , handsome of country churches in county of monmouthshire. elegant pointed , prominent steeple, font , 17th-century sundial, focal point of village. main part of church building of local old red sandstone, three-stage tower. spire can seen several miles around , described architectural writer john newman town s pride , joy .

a church on site, wooden structure, endowed ffernwael ap ithel , meurig ap tewdrig rulers of gwent in 7th , 8th centuries. preaching cross in churchyard may date time, may font. present building dates 13th or 14th century. english gothic stonework has been dated between 1225 , 1272, , of decorated gothic 1350. church has large clerestoried nave, smaller chancel. impressive interior has spendidly high tower arch, , five-bay nave has arcades on octagonal piers. altar rails , pulpit, dated 1640, survivals of 17th century church interior design. @ west end of church, directly below window, royal coat of arms king charles ii dated 1683. records held church dating 1692. complete lists of vicars, 1359, , churchwardens, 1763, can found in entrance south aisle. rear of main church door inscribed ihs 1595 .

when weathercock removed spire in 1972 found have been made in ross-on-wye in 1792. original spire fell, damaging roof of nave, , contemporary reference attributes lightning , storms . in belfry cage housing 3 bells of type similar found in others constructed year 1700. @ end of last century church in neglected state , extensively renovated , re-roofed. belgian slates in place replaced welsh slates in 1961. chancel replastered in 1972 , painted white. during 1974 considerable repairs undertaken north , south aisles, , in 2001 majority of churchyard dry-stone wall removed , rebuilt.

sundial

the church contains stone sundial, dated 1689, set lady magdalen probert of argoed, penallt. 3 of 4 faces of sundial show village s historic features: tump terret, inscriptions magna mole ( great in mound ) , o quot hic sepulti ( oh! how many buried here ); harold s stones inscriptions maior saxis ( greater in stones ) , hic fuit victor haraldus ( here harold victorious ); , virtuous well, inscriptions maxima fonte ( greatest in ) , dom. magd. probert ostendit ( lady magdalen probert gives proof of ). sundial stood in garden belonging former village school, on top of inverted ancient font, until both moved inside church in 20th century. carved wooden replica of sundial placed in field south of village in recent years.

harold s stones

harold s stones, looking north east

three large monoliths of conglomerate stone, commonly referred pudding stone, located in field on eastern side of b4293 south of village. (so 498051) stones, situated on publicly accessible land belonging davies family of crosshands farm, scheduled ancient monument. stones have been described 1 of more substantial megalithic monuments in monmouthshire .

the stones on elevated ground close running water , springs, might relevant choice of site. believed date bronze age. such remains rare in part of wales. derive name legend mark spot @ 3 chieftains fell in battle harold godwinson, defeated welsh in gwent in 1063. in legend stones flung skirrid mythical jack o kent in competition devil.

the stones form approximate line running between north-east , south-west @ azimuth of 229°, indicates midwinter sunset, though midsummer sunrise cannot excluded on account of lack of precise alignment of stones. have been described visually impressive of alignments in south wales. location, without views beyond immediate surroundings, suggests alignment may significant. stones respectively 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in), 3.7 metres (12 ft), , 4.6 metres (15 ft) high, tallest being @ south-west; overall length of row 11 metres (36 ft). central stone has thought cup marks. supposed stones dragged site on logs , levered position, either seasonal information or use @ religious ceremonies. houlder (1978) speculates once part of larger , impressive alignment, castleden (1992) suggests did not form part of stone circle

aubrey burl asserts short stone-rows of kind used ritual centres of families of perhaps ten or twenty adults , children , though erection of large stones required co-operation of several such families. compared trellech stones row @ le vieux-moulin, plouharnel, near carnac, , says similar short rows erected communities in ireland, britain , brittany in centuries of bronze age between 1800 , 1000 bc . source of trellech stones may have been nearby beacon hill there outcrops of similar conglomerate. fourth stone, on nearby common land, believed have been destroyed in 18th century.

tump terret , court farm

tump terret

tump terret situated within grounds of court farm south-west of church. dates norman times, site of small motte , bailey castle; traces of surrounding ditch remain. castle still extant in 1263, when mentioned in manorial documents. local myth, commemorated on sundial, was burial mound killed in actions between forces of harold godwinson , opposing welsh. now-vanished summer house built rumsey family on top of mound.

trellech court - site of farmhouse - seat of branch of seymour family until passed john rumsey in 18th century. existing building is, according bradney, building of no architectural features , , dates around time of rumsey s ownership. converted farmhouse in later 19th century.

the virtuous well

the virtuous well

sometimes known st anne s well, circular wellspring, surrounded stone wall , seating, located in field on left of road tintern, 400 yards (370 m) east of village. local tradition is 1 remaining of 9 holy wells in trellech. in 17th century, reportedly frequented, , reputed cure scurvy, colic , other distempers . water rich in chalybeate.

it clootie well, token offerings placed around , within well, , strips of cloth , ribbons hung neighbouring trees. used wishing well. traditionally, make wish 1 threw water small metal object. many bubbles arising meant rapid granting of 1 s wish, few bubbles meant long period of time elapse before wish came true , no bubbles @ meant 1 s wish had not been granted. young maidens of trellech anxious know how long had wait until wedding day, drop pebble water , every bubble arose counted 1 month.