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“A splendid guide”
The Daily Telegraph |
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Llangwyfan
(click
to enlarge)
Interior
Nanhoron Courtesy of Greta Hughes www.cimwch.com
Burne-Jones
window Courtesy of
Marian Delyth |
Illustrated in colour “Wales’s
Best One Hundred Churches” encompasses a millennium of churches around Wales,
from tiny St Govan’s tucked in its cliff-face, through ruined Llanthony to
the magnificence of the cathedrals at Llandaff and St David’s. It is an
invaluable repository of history, art and architecture, spirituality and
people’s lives which will appeal to the historian, the art-lover and the
tourist. The
archetypal Welsh church is not in town or village, enhanced by generations of
rich patronage: it is the isolated, simple, evocative walls-with-roof, in a
landscape often spiritually charged. The Welsh churches tell us about
medieval times, the Age of Saints that came before and, amazingly, of the
pagan Celtic times before that, which they were built expressly to erase. This
guide to the best Welsh churches features buildings placed where nature is
most elemental - on tidal islands, half-sunk in sand dunes, out alone on moor
or mountain, or raised on sculpted shafts above a river source; architectural
masterpieces such as Wrexham, Brecon, Llandaff, and Haverfordwest; treasure
houses of medieval arts and crafts like Gresford, Abergavenny, Llantwit Major
and Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch; the homes of the great carved Celtic rood screens
at Llanegryn, Llananno, Llanrwst and Patrisio – or of modern masterpieces
like the Burne Jones windows at Hawarden and Epstein’s Christ at Llandaff;
destinations of pilgrimage at Pennant Melangell, Pilleth, Clynnog Fawr and
Llanengan, perfect interiors of vernacular simplicity like Llanrhychwyn,
Llangelynin and Llanywern; and early rural chapels like Soar-y-mynydd,
Maesyronnen, Capel Newydd at Nanhoron, and the Quaker meeting houses at
Dolobran and The Pales with their rich connections to Pennsylvania. T. J.
Hughes was born in Denbighshire and has long family associations with the
churches and chapels of that area. The
Deputy Executive Director of the International Bar Association and a
contributor to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, he lives in To buy
the book direct from the publisher, Seren Books, in Bridgend, http://www.seren-books.com/public/products.cfm?&subItemId=2030 or from
the American distributor, Independent Publishers Group, please click here: http://www.ipgbook.com/showbook.cfm?bookid=1854114271&userid=DE18D533-803F-2B7A-70CE01DD0E41E51E More Reviews “If, like me, you are a compulsive visitor
to churches, large and small, this is the book for you. Those represented are
among For
decades Dewi Roberts a review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh
Books Council. "His
descriptions are reflective, poetic even, touching on history, spirituality
and art, as well as architecture. He has picked up on local legend and
anecdote through conversations with those to whom the particular building
matters, and yet retains an historical integrity. Hughes’ introductory
chapters are significant, placing our church buildings in their historical
context, but also in their social and topographical. He recognises the
importance of place in Welsh spirituality - churches sited for reclusive
prayer or sacred power rather than where people lived. This attractively
produced book, well-illustrated, will no doubt encourage many new visitors to
the churches and chapels, and is a very welcome publication". Philip Morris |
