St Aelhaiarn's Church is an active parish church in the village of Guilsfield, Powys, Wales. The village lies 3 miles to the north of Welshpool. The present church dates mainly from the 14/15th centuries, although parts may date back to the 12th. It was restored by George Edmund Street in 1877–1879. The church is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building. Its churchyard, which contains a group of ancient yew trees, is designated at Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
| St Aelhaiarn's Church, Guilsfield | |
|---|---|
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  St Aelhaiarn's Church, Guilsfield Location in Powys | |
| 52°41′49″N 3°09′24″W / 52.6969°N 3.1567°W | |
| OS grid reference | SJ 219 116 |
| Location | Guilsfield, Powys |
| Country | Wales |
| Denomination | Church in Wales |
| History | |
| Status | active |
| Dedication | Saint Aelhaiarn |
| Associated people | Reverend C L Rhodes (vicar) |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 25 April 1950 |
| Architect(s) | George Edmund Street (restoration) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Groundbreaking | 14th/15th century |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | St Asaph |
| Archdeaconry | Montgomery |
| Deanery | Pool |
| Parish | Mission Area of Pool |
History
editSt Aelhaiarn's stands in the centre of the village of Guilsfield, which is 3 miles to the north of Welshpool.[1] The present church dates mainly from the 14/15th centuries. There is uncertainty as to the date of the building's original construction. Cadw's listing record ascribes the tower to the 12th or 13th centuries.[2] Robert Scourfield and Richard Haslam, in their Powys volume in the Buildings of Wales series, record the tower as c.1300.[3] Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, which surveyed the church in the 1990s, states that the church is predominantly of the 15th century, with possibly earlier origins.[1] The dedication is to Aelhaiarn, a Welsh saint of the late 6th or early 7th centuries.[1]
In 1877-1879 the church was restored by George Edmund Street at a cost of £6,000, funded by Christ Church, Oxford, then the patron of the living, and the Mytton family, local landowners.[4] The Church in Wales Historic record considers that Street's restoration was undertaken "sympathetically",[4] and Scourfield and Haslam suggest that Street created an interior that is "successfully homogeneous".[3] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) Coflein nonetheless notes that "many of the original features of the building were swept away".[5]
The church remains an active parish church in the Diocese of St Asaph and regular services are held.[6][7]
Churchyard
editThe church stands in the centre of a large oval churchyard. This contains a group of ancient yew trees and is designated at Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.[8]
Architecture and description
editSt Aelhaiarn's consists of a nave and chancel, a western tower attached, a two-storey south porch and north and south aisles. The building material is mainly local sandstone.[1] The interior contains a font which is thought to be 12th century and stained glass of the 1890s by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.[2] The roof is of particular note; Scourfield and Haslam call it a "very fine Late Perpendicular ceiling",[3] and it contains bosses decorated with Tudor motifs including "circles, triangles and quatrefoils".[5] St Aelhaiarn's is as a Grade I listed building.[2] The churchyard wall and gates are designated at Grade II.[9] A table tomb near to the south gates honours "Richard Jones, gent., who was interred December ye 10th 1707 aged 90" and is also Grade II listed.[a][10]
Gallery
edit-
View to the chancel showing the decorated Tudor ceiling -
One of the churchyard's 20 yew trees -
Churchyard wall and gates -
Jones Monument
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Montgomeryshire Churches Survey: Church of St Aelhaiarn, Guilsfield". Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Cadw. "Church of St Aelhaiarn (Grade I) (7866)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Scourfield & Haslam 2013, pp. 117–119.
- ^ a b "Church Heritage Record 1298: St Aelhaiarn's Church, Guilsfield". Church in Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Church of St Aelhaiarn, Guilsfield (163185)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Church of St Aelhaiarn, Guilsfield". Church in Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "St Aelhaiarn's Church, Guilsfield". St Aelhaiarn's Parochial Church Council. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ Cadw. "St.Aelhaiarn Churchyard, Guilsfield (PGW(Po)54(POW))". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ Cadw. "Churchyard Wall and Gates at Church of St Aelhaiarn (Grade II) (7868)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ a b Cadw. "Jones Monument, close to the south gates of the churchyard (Grade II) (7867)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
Sources
edit- Scourfield, Robert; Haslam, Richard (2013). Powys: Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18508-9.
External links
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