Wandering and Wondering in Wales

I arrived in Wales on Monday morning after our group pilgrimage farewell dinner in Chester.

We had a wonderful but very busy time in Ireland and I promise to fill you in on the details over the next few days.

However I have had such an amazing time discovering some of the Welsh saints we encountered in our Hearth Gastherings reflections in March that I thought you might be interested in seeing where Melangell (Melangeth), Illtyd (Ilthid), David (Dewi) and Non (same in Welsh as far as I can tell) , lived their lives in the 5th to the 7th centuries.

St. Melangell proved somewhat elusive but after several miles (we are in imperial measures here) of narrow hedged single track roads with miniscule parking laybys and up close encounters with a rubbish/ recycling truck I finally reached St. Melangell's Shrine Church to find the door locked and a note on the door directing me to the Centre. However this was not sign posted and the road ended at a farm barn where the friendly farmer sent me back over the cattlegrid to the first white house opposite the church.

There I met the Priest Guardian, Rev'd Christine who showed me into the Centre where Karen welcomed me with a strong cup of tea and a slice of lemon drizzle cake. After a very interesting sharing of pilgrimage stories with Karen, Christine took me to the shrine church and left me in charge of a very large key. There has been a church on this land for over 1200 years. The church stands in a round circle, once a Bronze-Age site, surrounded by ancient yew trees estimated to be 2,000 years old. The graves that surround the church date back into the 1600's with the most recent burial just a few days before I visited. Christine cautioned me to make sure the gates were firmly closed to prevent the local sheep from eating the funeral flowers.

Two Yews with around 2,000 years of stories to tell

One Ewe looking for opportunistic entry

Entrusted with the big key

Banner of St. Melangell

The shrine was constructed around 1160 to house Melangell's relics

The shrine was ordered to be demolished in 1561 during the Reformation. Stones from the shrine were built into the lych gate and parts of the wall nave and they were rediscovered in 1894. Some of these stones were included in the rebuilding of the shrine in 1989.

There are many images of hares, the animal Melangell sheltered from the hounds which lead to the gift of the land in the valley to Melangell and her community as a refuge for all creatures. It continues to be a place of peace and hospitality today.

original stone carving incorporated into rebuilt shrine

I look forward to sharing my encounters with St. Illtyd and his current community at LLantwit Major in my next post.