Some places leave an impression on you - and this isolated place that nobody comes to - certainly did that.
For years I had driven through the woods and down the small road with the black mountains in the distance (and the sugar loaf) and somehow had managed to miss this tiny place. Infact there was no sign. I simply left Qwernesney and saw a lane on the left and followed it for a mile until I saw a large farmhouse and then an isolated St Davids church all on its own on a small hillock and trees around it.
I parked the car on the grass and walked through the churchyard and was amazed to see the ancient door not locked but held closed with a peice of rope. It was dark in the porch as I walked in and fiddled with the door hoook (nearly left thinking it was locked) but wandered into an interior which was ever so simple (No Windows on the north side!). Not only had the 20th and 21st century left no mark on the place but also no sign of Victoriana (Other than the dusty harmonium) - the nearest things were 18th cent. It was all so simple and crude with the tall box pews and the pulpit in the middle of the nave - and just a simple table for the altar. The church dates back as far as the 13th century although most of the fabric was of the 15th. This church was made redundant in the late 1990's which is an amazing feet since there are no houses nearby. It is now owned by the Friends of Friendless churches who haven't tarted it up at all - hence why I Nearly put my foot through some 18th century floor boards near the pulpit!
For me it was the atmosphere of the place - its utter isolation (and only 20 miles from Bristol!!) and also the dust and simplicty of the building.
Will it be here in another couple of hundred years. I hope so. It is still a consecrated building and I Would love to think that maybe one day services could return - but I guess they never will. The place amongst the south monmouthshire hills is a very moving place. The fact that it is called St Davids was quite sygificant to me - the man who left his celtic mark all around the country of Pembrokshire, my universtity at Lampeter and of course several other places.
I started off at Llanfair Discoed and tried to see the castle under the undergrowth but it was on private property so could only be seen from the road. Then drove into the Wentwood forest and on to Usk and Llangeview. These are really lovely places but so few people from Bristol no that they are within half an hours drive away from them. Also the resevoir near Llanfair looked lovely. I then drove along the ridge at Pen Cae Mawr with the ridge of the mountains in the distance.
Earlier in the day popped in on Michelle and took Toby and Ellie to buy their magazines and had lunch with them before setting off for the Severn Bridge.
For years I had driven through the woods and down the small road with the black mountains in the distance (and the sugar loaf) and somehow had managed to miss this tiny place. Infact there was no sign. I simply left Qwernesney and saw a lane on the left and followed it for a mile until I saw a large farmhouse and then an isolated St Davids church all on its own on a small hillock and trees around it.
I parked the car on the grass and walked through the churchyard and was amazed to see the ancient door not locked but held closed with a peice of rope. It was dark in the porch as I walked in and fiddled with the door hoook (nearly left thinking it was locked) but wandered into an interior which was ever so simple (No Windows on the north side!). Not only had the 20th and 21st century left no mark on the place but also no sign of Victoriana (Other than the dusty harmonium) - the nearest things were 18th cent. It was all so simple and crude with the tall box pews and the pulpit in the middle of the nave - and just a simple table for the altar. The church dates back as far as the 13th century although most of the fabric was of the 15th. This church was made redundant in the late 1990's which is an amazing feet since there are no houses nearby. It is now owned by the Friends of Friendless churches who haven't tarted it up at all - hence why I Nearly put my foot through some 18th century floor boards near the pulpit!
For me it was the atmosphere of the place - its utter isolation (and only 20 miles from Bristol!!) and also the dust and simplicty of the building.
Will it be here in another couple of hundred years. I hope so. It is still a consecrated building and I Would love to think that maybe one day services could return - but I guess they never will. The place amongst the south monmouthshire hills is a very moving place. The fact that it is called St Davids was quite sygificant to me - the man who left his celtic mark all around the country of Pembrokshire, my universtity at Lampeter and of course several other places.
I started off at Llanfair Discoed and tried to see the castle under the undergrowth but it was on private property so could only be seen from the road. Then drove into the Wentwood forest and on to Usk and Llangeview. These are really lovely places but so few people from Bristol no that they are within half an hours drive away from them. Also the resevoir near Llanfair looked lovely. I then drove along the ridge at Pen Cae Mawr with the ridge of the mountains in the distance.
Earlier in the day popped in on Michelle and took Toby and Ellie to buy their magazines and had lunch with them before setting off for the Severn Bridge.
