The name or dedication of the church.
This identifies the church type. Most churches are parish churches which means they serve a specific parish or area. Other types such as chapel, daughter and mission are mostly historic designations as many are now also parish churches. Please note that former churches are no longer used for worhsip and may be in private ownership.
A unique identification number given to every church.
The name of the diocese in which the church is located.
The name of the archdeaconry in which the church is located.
This is the legal name of the parish as given by the Church Commissioners.
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There are 3 levels of listing: Grade I, II* & II. The majority of buildings which are of special interest are Grade II. A much smaller number of particularly important buildings are listed as Grade II*. Buildings of exceptional interest (approx 2% of the total number of listed buildings) are Grade I.
Ancient monuments and archaeological remains of national importance are protected by law. Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service is responsible for compiling a schedule (list) of these ancient monuments, some of which can be found in churches and churchyards. Examples can include churchyard crosses and the archaeological remains of previous churches or buildings on the site.
There are three National Parks in Wales: Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire Coast and Brecon Beacons. These protect 20 percent of the land in Wales, including precious landscapes, habitats, villages and heritage sites.
There are over 500 conservation areas in Wales. They are designated by local planning authorities for their special architectural and historic interest.
The Buildings at Risk register is managed by Cadw (the Welsh Government’s historic environment service) in order to identify the number and type of listed buildings at risk in Wales.
It is often extremely difficult to determine a precise date of construction for a church as many have been extensively altered over time. Church Heritage Cymru therefore shows a date range within which a church is believed to have been constructed. The dates are as follows: Early Medieval (pre 1066), Medieval (post 1066 to 1540), Post Medieval (1540 to 1837), Victorian/Pre WWI (1837 to 1914) and Modern (post 1914).
The name/dedication of the church and its location.
A brief description of the image
The date the image was created.
Details of any copyright are displayed here.
The name of the person who uploaded the image.
This is a very brief summary of the church's main features. More detailed nformation can be found in the other fields and pages (tabs) in this database.
Useful information is displayed here for people wishing to visit the church. This may include things like opening hours, catering & toilet facilities, parking, etc.
If the church has its own website the details will be displayed here.
Any further sources of information for the church will be listed here (eg. links to other historic databases).
This is the Ordnance Survey (OS) reference for the location of the church. Some locations will be approximate as this data is continuously being refined and updated.
This is the name of the Local Authoirity within which the church is located.
This describes how the church relates to its immediate and wider environment, sometimes called its setting. It describes how the church contributes to its landscape or townscape and how these things collectively contribute to the character of the area.
Bleddfa is situated on the old Turnpike road from Penybont to Knighton now the A488 at a point where the road takes a sharp bend. It lies in a deep valley of a tributary of the river Lugg with the heights of Glog Hill to the north and the Radnor Forest to the south. Knighton is 9km to the north-east and Llandrindod Wells some 15km to the south-west.
References
Route Planner Directions, traffic and maps AA
The name/dedication of the church to which the plan refers.
A brief description of the plan. eg. who created it and where it came from.
The date the plan was created.
The details of any copyright are displayed here.
The name of the person who inputted the plan.
This is a description of the ground plan of the church.
If known, the dimensions (measurements) of the church ground plan will be displayed here.
If the footrprint (area) of the church is known, it will be displayed here.
A description of the history and archaeology of the church and its site.
Tradition has it that Bleffa was fouded by the Irish Saint Brendan in the C6 but there is no evidence to support this claim. The churchyard is not curvilinear enough to argue convincingy for an early medieval origin. The ealiest record is in the Taxatio of 1291 but the building evidence suggests that the church predates this time. The western part of the nave is early C13 and it was exended to the west in the late C13. The tower was reputdly destroyed by Owain Glyndwr's troops before the battle of Pilleth in 1402. The building was re-roofed in C15 which left the nave and chancel with arch-braced roofs, now the glory of the church (neighbouring churches lost theirs during C19 restoration and a bellcote was added 1711 together with the porch. The box pews were replaced by benches in 1818 and the earth floor was replaced 'J C Edwards adamantine tiles set in 6" of concrete cement' and the 'aisles of Nave and Vestibule & Porch to be paved with the best of the stone flags now in the Church set in cement.'
Restoration took place in 1907 by Ernest Collier of Carmarthen which included buttressing to the north and south walls, the replacement of the wooden windows with new ones in stone and the external walls were coated with rough-cast render, re-exposed roof timbers, windows in lancet and decorated style, new seating and furnishing and re-partitioned Nave, and creating at the west end a Vestibule a Vestry with fireplace and robbing room.
Further repairs took place in 1959, 1960/63 when the tower was excavated by L Butler At the west end of the church there is an entrance through to a former tower, now blocked, and a bellcote sits above the thick end wall, it also revealed mural steps leading down to narrow doorway with a crude cyclopean head. The east wall of the tower has been incorporated into the present west wall of the church. . The remains of the tower, previously earthed over and thought to be a prehistoric mound, were excavated in the 1960's. The wall stoods to a height of about 5 feet. and more in 1983. In 1987 further repairs were carried out by Capps and Capps to the roof timbers when arcade work was introduced as a strengthening device between tie beams and collars of two trusses at the west end. Redecoration and pointing happened again in 1991 and 1992. when the porch and bellcote were installed and new bell frame (by R Taylor under Michael Garner architect , Llandrindod Wells). Further work took place when George Pace, then a leading church architect generously donated his services, drawing up a scheme for re-ordering the church. In 2003 the level of the sanctuary was raised with a wooden platform and recycled flagstones from Methyr Cynog church were laid throughout the building.
A former priest of C18 Revd Samual Phillips was a man of mordant wit and produced the following epitath for maiden lady of the parish:
'Scorning and scorn'd, she passed her life away, An useless lump of animated clay; Now spite and envy rule her every frame no more, But here she lies - more useless than before.'
Further infrmation about the connection between the church and the Bleddfa Trust can be found at http://www.bleddfacentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Bleddfa-history-JRE-copy.pdf
Cadw Listings Notice
Buildings of Wales – Powys 2013
Church Quinquennial Inspection Reports
CPAT Radnorshire Churches Survey
A Survey of Ceramic Tiles in the Radnorshire Churches M A V Gill 2005
Roads and Trackways of Wales Richard Moore – Colyer 2001
A description of the exterior of the church and the main features of the churchyard.
The church is a low nave with slightly higher and broader eastern extension, gabled south porch, square bellcote with pyramidal roof. Buttressing to eastern side walls by Collier. The east wall of the tower has been incorporated into the present west wall of the church. It is constructed with grey tabular medium-sized shale at lower levels merging higher up into sandstone and micaceous mudstone with shale and then slabs and blocks of olive-coloured micaceous mudstone. The nave roof is constructed with stone tiles on the nave, bellcote and porch with slate on the chancel with ceramic ridge tiles and a finial on the porch roof. The walls show evidence of many phases of rebuilding and patching. There are four C13 lancets, the opposing two at the east end of nave and one in the north wall of chancel are of a later date than the slightly flattened one in he south west wall of the nave. All other windows by Collier, viz single lancets and opposing decorated windows in nave and triple lancet in east end.
Information about any noteable architects, artists, people, or events associated with the church.
Information about any important features and building fabric.
If known, a list of the church's major building material/s will be displayed here.
Any renewable energy systems the church is using will be listed here.
This section gives a general description of the interior of the church. Further details of any important internal fixtures and fittings will be listed below.
This is a typical plain Radnorshire interior but with fine open roof of predominantly C15 date. The west end of the nave is divided by a thin lath and plaster partition, it was once used as a schoolroom; the nave and chancel are undivided. Earlier roof trusses to western portion of nave. Three arched brace trusses with chamfered tie beams and purlins and in one bay two quadruple cusped windbraces. Further to the west is plain tie beams truss with raking struts. There is clearly some re-use of older timber at this end. Later C15 roof over extended portion of nave and chancel of eight bays formed by alternate queen post and arch-braced trusses, the latter all chamfered. Three sets of trenched purlins and two tiers of chamfered quatrefoil windbraces. All the members were clearly at one time painted, fragments of red and white paint survive. The former rood beam tying one of the queen post trusses rests on modern corbels and has painted floral decoration. The paint is interrupted below the queen post and there are slots cut out of the tie beam indicating the position of various fixings for the rood and/or canopy. Major repairs to the roof timbers were carried out in 1987 and arcade work was introduced as a strengthening device between the tie beams and collars of two trusses at the west end. Plain pointed arch entrance from porch, early heavily studded boarded door with very long wrought hinges. Former entrance to tower through triangular headed stone arch. C17 communion rails with scribed detailing and serpentine balusters. Piscina in north wall of chancel. Re-used Jacobean decorative panelling in pulpit. Oak lectern. Octagonal font of possibly C13 date on new cement base and long plank-built muniments chest. Two bells cast in 1711. cast by Henry Williams hang in an oak frame renewed in 1988 - used for tolling. Two manual chamber organ installed 1997. Parish chest four sided plank built with large hinges. Iron chest mark 'Coalbrookdale'.
All the fittings are made movable (1977) to a scheme by G G Pace to allow the space to be freely used for liturgical experiment, dramatic or choral performances
Buildings of Wales – Glamorgan 2001
Information about the church's important internal fixtures and fittings.
Information about the church's important moveable items and artworks.
A description of the ecology of the churchyard.
Information about the presence of bats in the church building or churchyard.
Records whether the church has been consecrated.
Records whether there have been burials in the churchyard.
Records whether the churchyard is still being used for burials.
Records whether there are any war graves in the churchyard.
Any important churchyard structures will be listed here.
Signifiance levels are set at high, medium and low.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship of the church to its surrounding area and helps place it within its wider landscape context.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the significance of the historic building fabric of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the historic significance of the interior of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship between the church and its community.