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| Wales has a mutitude of holy places, from quaint village chapels, to high status churches and ancient monasteries, to the more out of the ordinary holy wells and streams, and even one or two places of worship for the spell casters. In this section I will endeavour to point you in the direction of a few of these. Although there are literally hundreds to choose from, I feel that information on the more well known places such as Tintern Abbey in Gwent and Holywell in Clwyd to name just two, can be easily found by searching other sites on the web. In this section I will try and guide you to the lesser known but more unusual places of worship, giving you the reasons for their holiness and any tales and fables attached to them. These holy places are not in any order, but are written here as my notes dictate. |
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| Llanbadrig(Anglesey) pictured on right It is claimed locally that this church was founded by St Patrick. However, he was not the Irish patron saint but a namesake who lived later and was a member of St Cybi`s monastery at Holyhead. The story is that he was returning from a visit to St Columba on Iona(Scotland) when his boat was wrecked on Ynys Baldrig. He swam ashore and scrambled up the rock, leaving the marks of his feet as he went. He later built a church here to commemorate his escape from the sea. A strange feature is an entrance to the churchyard, which is said to be over 1000 years old. |
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| Ynys Pyr(Dyfed) St Dubricius set up the first monastery on Caldy Island and Piro was appointed as abbot. It seems he liked a drink or two, and sometimes indulged in three or four. One night in about 520A.D. he had one too many and, returning to his cell fell into the well. When his fellow monks found him he had drowned. Samson was then appointed as Piro`s successor. He tried in vain to stop the drinking habits. Finally defeated by problems of discipline, he left Caldy and retired with other faithfull monks to stackpole. The monks took over an abandoned camp, which can still be seen today, and Samson settled into a cave on the side of the headland overlooking the sea |
| Llangendeirne(Dyfed) picture on left A strange discovery was made here in the nineteenth century when the church was being resored. Beneath the floor were found the skeletons of 497 men in layers five deep and closely packed. They had been buried all at the same time. Only adults were found and none had signs of injury. The church is dedicated to St Kentigern who spent time in Wales when driven from Scotland. There may have been a monastery here, and the remains are those of monks who died of yellow fever in 547. |
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| Ogaf Gwyl Edi(Dyfed) The Cave of St Eddy. In a valley below Llanedy church, half concealed by bushes on an outcrop of rock, is a small cave which St Eddy is supposed to have used as a hermitage in the sixth century. They say that his bed and his seat can still be seen hewn into the rock inside the cave. |
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| Llanidan(Anglesey) picture on right Dedicated to St Aidan, a seventh century bishop, this church was at one time quite large, but is now partially ruined. It contains the Maen Morddwyd (The Thigh Stone), Which resembles a human thigh. The stone is reputed to walk during the night and return by morning.. If taken away from the church it has the ability to return under its own steam. Earl Hugh of Chester once invaded Anglesey and hearing about the famous walking stone decided to test the legend. Attaching iron chains to the stone and another large stone as anchor he cast them into the whirlpools of the Menai Straits. The stone was back in position the very next morning. At some time the stone has been cemented into the wall of the church which no doubt ensures it will never walk again. Llanidan church also boasts a holy water stoup which is never filled, but has never been found empty. The church has a detached arcade in the churchyard, which adds to its spooky atmosphere |
| Clynnog Fawr(Gwynedd) In the sixth century St Beuno founded a church here on land given to him by Cadwallon, king of Gwynedd. Todays church is interesting in that it has a narrow passage about 15 feet long at the south-west side which leads to a small chapel called Eglwys y Bedd. Some years ago beneath the floor of this chapel, the remains of a small rectangular drystone building were found. There were thirteen burials at its external west end and an empty slab cist outside the south wall. It seems that the present day church was built to cover the founders church, part of the original cemetry and probably the grave of Beuno himself. his remains have now been moved to a new tomb in Eglwys y Bedd. |
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