At the commencement of the evening the Chairman welcomed our guests, Archbishop Peter Smith, Dom Thomas Regan, Mr. Paul Murphy, KSG, MP, Mr. Mark and Mrs. Kathryn Leighfield (Mark is Principal of St. David's VI Form College) Mr. Gerallt Nash and Mrs. Pat Nash (Gerallt is Senior Curator of historic buildings at the National History Museum, St. Fagans) and Mr. Paul and Mrs. Anne Marie Fulgoni. He was also delighted to welcome Agnes Chidgey and extended our love and prayers to Agnes and the family.
The event was well supported and, after an excellent dinner, we were treated to a number of stimulating, thought provoking and informative talks, first by Dom Thomas Regan, who was our main speaker and he provided an interesting yet controversial talk on Catholic education, this was responded to by Mr. Paul Murphy in true Parliamentary style.
Mr. Daveth Frost, Chairman of the 1520 Group gave an insight on the situation to date on the reconstruction of the St. Teilo’s Church at the National History Museum and, he went on to thank Mr. Gerallt Nash for his willingness to keep us abreast of all that is happening in the wonderful work of reconstruction. Daveth also spoke briefly about Mr. Dan Chidgey and said how much he had encouraged and enthused us all on the reconstruction of the Medieval Church at St. Fagans
Finally, Fr. Ieuan paid a tribute to Dan and briefly outlined Dan’s teaching career which culminated in him becoming the Director of Education for the Cardiff Archdiocese. Among other things he also, for several years, served as Chairman of the Management Committee for the Catholic Children’s Society. Dan was the Archdiocesan Archivist and one of the founder members of The Wales and the Marches Catholic History Society and continued to inspire us all on Welsh Catholic History.
Humphrey Pakington had been a Catholic and from 1585 was in constant trouble for practising the Faith. Humphrey ensured that Harvington Hall became a ‘receptacle’, or a holding point, for Catholic priests arriving from the continent, who would stay a while before moving to other parts of the country, to order to say Mass for the Catholic population. The group were reminded just how dangerous it was to be a priest or a practising Catholic in those times, when they saw the several priests’ holes. These hiding places had been constructed by Nicholas (alias Little John) Owen, a Jesuit master carpenter. The priests would hide in these small spaces, in times of danger. The guide invited members of the group to climb into some of the priest holes, but nobody felt brave enough to do so!
The group were also able to see the wall-paintings, which had remained hidden until 1936. The imagery of the pomegranate was striking, with the fruit acting as a visual image of the Church, by the pomegranate being the Church and the seeds inside being the people. At the end of the tour of Harvington Hall, the group enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea in the tea-shop.
Later in the afternoon, the group travelled to Droitwich to visit the Church of the Sacred Heart and St. Catherine of Alexandria. This church is one of the most beautiful in the country, with the interior being covered in mosaics. The architect, Barry Peacock, had watched over the building of the church, which took place between 1919-1921. The artist, Gabriel Pippet, had designed the pictures on the walls, which were then executed by the mosaicists Maurice Josey and Fred Oates. The artistic effect is stunning. The trip was enjoyed by all the members.
Lillie Fennell
ANNUAL HISTORY DAY 10 JUNE 2006
Our members seem to have an insatiable appetite to hear more and more about the almost unprecedented task of rebuilding the church of St. Teilo from Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont at St. Fagans National History Museum - a project now nearing its completion and due to be reopened in 2007.
Our Annual History Day at St. David's VI Form College, Cardiff was regaled
in words and illustrations by Mr. Gerallt Nash from St. Fagans. He has been the motivator and guiding light in this project - a task of immense magnitude requiring skills, dedication, tenacity and over all a profound scholarship - an awesome challenge. If at any stage misgivings prevailed they must surely have been transcended by an overriding enthusiasm and determination to bring to completion a unique enterprise.
Mr. Nash provided a comprehensive photographic presentation from the first time the decision to move the church, stone by stone, despite its ruined state, from Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont to the site it now occupies at St. Fagan's Museum. The building as it stood then dated from the 12th-13th centuries, probably on the site of an earlier church: A patterned stone discovered during dismantling that formed part of the building could date from between the 7th and 9th centuries.
Despite several layers of paint, 11 in some cases, many wall paintings were discovered and these will be copied and adorn the interior of the re-built church: It is likely that the originals, which were carefully removed, will form part of a display at the Museum.
Much research has been carried out regarding statues, rood screen and windows - was there glass in the windows, if so, was it stained glass? No doubt any light that can be thrown on these points would be welcome. The original windows having been destroyed at the time of the Reformation, were replaced in 1810, but fortunately some older fragments were found and these have been used as a guide. No piscina was found within the church, so a free-standing one will be installed. Statues are being researched to find the most appropriate and reference was made to a statue of Our Lady at Ampleforth, Yorkshire and one in Ireland of the bound Christ.
Within the History Society a small committee has been formed to keep in touch with the progress of the church's restoration, headed by our member, Daveth Frost. He concluded the presentation on St. Teilos with a range of photographs and mentioned some ideas that might be appropriate to the restoration. Daveth is in constant liaison with Mr. Nash on progress with a particular emphasis on final details - the results of Daveth's research on churches of similar antiquity elsewhere in the UK. The team at St. Fagans appear to be very receptive to the interest shown by the Society.
It is intended to restore the church as near as possible to resemble its appearance in 1520, before the Reformation affected Wales. Judging by the superb range of photos detailing the minutiae of the project and the unflagging enthusiasm of its leader and his team, Wales capital city will possess a unique and priceless gem.
Later in the day Bishop Mullins, the Society's President, spoke in general about the Jesuit mission to Britain and in particular the Jesuit College at the Cwm, Near Monmouth during Penal times. He detailed the arrival of the Jesuits in 1625 with about 20 priests, some of whom spoke Welsh. By 1645 the Jesuit College at the Cwm was well established. They were determined to keep the faith alive within a small catholic community in Wales - "the wilderness was Wales . . . . . ".
Although the Benedictines also served the Welsh mission, their main contribution was to England until about 1840 - Belmont Abbey, Hereford was founded in the late 1850s.
The Jesuit contribution to the Welsh mission, when it was viewed with suspicion by those aspiring to the new religion, kept the Faith alive, despite the strictures imposed by law, especially for the catholic families who harboured priests. At one time of the 18 Jesuit priests ministering to Wales, 4 were in prison. Robert Gwyn, a student from Douai writing home to Wales, mentioned that the "Welsh people were being contaminated by heresy". This anxiety arose when catholics were permitted by the Church to attend the official church services so long as they did not neglect attendance at Mass - it was an attempt to deflect attention away from their families in the hope of avoiding persecution. But the Jesuit remit in considering the English and Welsh missions was to keep clear of politics - the General to the Jesuits felt the mission was a dangerous one. Nevertheless it was undertaken with zeal and a disregard for the likely fate that awaited many of the priests.
The Annual History Day was concluded by Bill Morris and Dan Chidgey paying tribute to all those who worked for the Society over the last 12 months. Reports, where appropriate, were received on the Society's finances and future events before the present committee were re-elected en bloc.
Our erstwhile chairman, Dan, as usual, had a bijou on display - a 15th century silver chalice lined with gilt, called the Dowlais Chalice, dated April 1469. A magnificent work of craftsmanship in its precision and symmetry without the aid of technology. An inscription on the underside, in what has been identified as medieval French, testifies to the exact date. Dan has produced a leaflet (emerald in colour - true to his origins) giving an interesting account of the chalice - the leaflet is available to members. Dan also showed some picture postcards received from a Mrs. Dorothy Hudson, from Cardigan, who lived in the area of Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont at one time. They were pictures of St. Teilos Church in the early 1900s.
Tribute was paid to St. David's College for hosting the event and for the superb facilities that were available. Morning coffee and lunch were much appreciated and very satisfying.
Members dispersed, sated mentally and corporally, after a magnificent History Day.
Rita Griffin
June 2006
Following the Christmas lull – during which the Officers were busy planning a busy round of meetings and visits – we instituted THE ST. DAVID LECTURES – so called because they are timed to take place near the feast of St. David, the Patron Saint of Wales. Also, they will be held in St. David’s Catholic College, Cardiff, whose excellent facilities are placed at our disposal through the generosity of the Principal and the Governing Body and for which we are most grateful.
The first ST DAVID LECTURE was given by Mr. Frank Lane, one of our members and a well-known former Headmaster. Frank, who has a deep interest in Owain Glyndwr was at pains to point out that he was not an expert on this famous last Welsh Prince of Wales, since so little hard evidence is available that there is no such thing as an expert.
On Sunday 12th March this meeting was well-attended and enjoyed despite early morning snow! It was a graphic(if sometimes bloodthirsty) account of the life, successes, troubles and eventual failure of Owain whose last days are shrouded in obscurity surrounded by myth and legend. Particularly memorable was the Pennal Letter written asking the King of France to urge the Pope (at Avignon) to right the many grievences suffered by the Church in Wales because of English influence. An article on this was published in The Old Faith – Yr Hen Ffydd No.16 circulated in April.
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