Thursday 11 April 2019

over the hills and far away... I

     Over the Black Mountain on Saturday to the beautiful, remote hill-country (where it is the lambing season) between the Twyi valley and the mountain, a continuation, if you will, of the landscape around Carreg Cennen Castle, which I have written about before. A lyrical landscape. Timeless.
     Off the mountain we drove through narrow winding roads in search of Llanddeusant and its Late Medieval church dedicated to Ss Simon and Jude.  The name means 'church of the two saints' and could equally refer to a meeting of St Teilo and St David which is believed to have occurred here.
     The village is tiny - just a handful of dwellings - perched on the ridge above the deep valley of the Sawdde. Noticeably colder than Swansea up there too! And there the church stands, humble after the truncation of its west tower.  The inside is a surprise, and wonderfully atmospheric - packing, for such a small building, a great emotional punch. Colder, if at all possible, than outside. There are two spacious naves divided by an arcade of almost primitive strength.  No furnishings of note (Oh, lets be honest here, some of them are downright wrong!) except the two late medieval wooden tunnel vaults, the ribs all silvery with age, yet somehow what a church should be.



















No comments:

Post a Comment