Church of St Clydawg, Clodock
We stumbled across this one by complete accident on our way to Longtown Castle, somewhere which we also hadn't intended on going. However, when the holiday takes a pleasant detour, you do too!
Now this church has been standing here with, what is to us, a very unusual dedication since at least 500AD. It was built as a shrine to St Clydawg, King of Ewais who was murdered by a rival. Now the rival was only a rival because they both were after the same lady, and for some reason this other man thought she'd pick him if he eliminated the competition, a kingly competition no less. We don't know if that worked.
What we do know is that at Clydawg's funeral the oxen pulling the cart refused to cross the River Monmow so they opted to bury the man where they stopped. That very night someone was said to have seen a column of fire rising from his grave which the community took to mean that an oratory should be built there.
From that point the current church can actually be dated back to the 12th century with its nave and over the centuries more has been added. However, this church somehow managed to escape the Victorianisation of many others and so pretty much stands how it had been prior, to the point they note it as an 'organic church'.
We didn't actually go inside for this one which seems a shame as we'd like to have seen the inside with the bold claim of having no Victorian influences, however this was literally a fly by visit as it was the last day of our holiday and we had never intended to end up in or even near Wales!
We will say that there is a little bit of a vibe here though. Obviously we don't know how true the tale of the murdered king is, we aren't sure if his grave is visible or has been dated, as a side note we also don't know if the fire coming from said grave is true. It does seem unlikely. But if it had been, Clydawg's influence can certainly still be felt.
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images are ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
If you have any recommendations on places to visit or somewhere you would like to see on the blog, please feel free to drop us a message on instagram under @phantomadventuresuk or email us at phantomadventuresuk@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment