Llanrhydd
| Llanrhydd Rural | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SJ1400257761 |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Ruthin |
| Dialling code | 01824 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
Llanrhydd is a parish 1 1/2 miles SW of Ruthin in Denbighshire, Wales.
Church of St Meugan
Directions From central Ruthin or the by-pass, follow signs to ‘Hospital’: after passing this, take the left hand road at the fork and continue half a mile.
In a tiny rural hamlet a mile or so from the town centre, St Meugan’s was the original mother-church of the Welsh settlement which became Ruthin. The pretty little 15th century building (dedicated to a hermit-saint from Carleon in Gwent) contains many notable furnishings – above all the lovely ‘rood screen’ which once supported a ‘rood’ or crucifix (see Derwen Site 6). Dating probably from the early 1500s, this fine example of local carpentry is richly carved with intricate tracery, with an ‘ivy-berry’ trail (a Vale of Clwyd speciality) along its upper rail. The Georgian west gallery opposite (for choir and ‘church band’) is an even rarer survival, dated 1721: most such galleries hereabouts were removed by the Victorians. Rarer still is the ornate 17th century altar table, guarded by rampant lions.
On the walls nearby are the intriguing monuments of the Thelwall family, who came to Ruthin with its de Grey overlords. The oldest depicts Elizabeth John and Jane Thelwall with their ten sons and four daughters, all named and some holding skulls to show that they died before their parents. The ninth son Ambrose is again commemorated by a fine portrait bust: a courtier to three Stuart kings, he retired here in the ‘troublesome times’ of Republican rule and died in 1653.
In the churchyard (not far from the south porch) stands the decorated nine-foot shaft of a medieval preaching cross: and in the north-east corner is the gravestone of ‘Alfred Corbett, Tramp’ a popular figure who died in 1947. A good guidebook is available in the church.
St Meugan’s church open by appointment.
References
- ^ information provided under an an open content agreement from DCC
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As of 28 April 2011, this article is derived in whole or in part from medieval-wales.com/index.php. The copyright holder has licensed the content in a manner that permits reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed. The original text was at "Llanrhydd"