A Church in a Meadow

 

Two miles from us stands St Peter’s church.

A Faerie Fortress

St Peter’s Church was already 300 years old when the young future Henry V was hunting boar in the forests of Monmouth. An ‘old’ church was mentioned on this site in AD 735 and was probably founded by Tydwg, a monk of the small Welsh kingdom of Archenfield, a stronghold of the early Celtic Church. In 1054 the church was destroyed by the Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn who devastated the river settlements along the river Wye. The church was rebuilt and dedicated to St Peter by the Normans in 1080, who went on to occupy the small Welsh kingdom of Archenfield.  Soon after that it was appropriated by the Benedictine Monastery of Monmouth and placed within the Hereford Diocese. 

Original Saxon 'herringbone' pattern stonework

Building work continued. The tower was completed by 1300. In 1420 they acquired a church bell cast in Worcester and transported downriver. No rush then. By the late C16th the church was falling into decay and it fell upon a local man, David the Hermit to repair it. In 1740 the vicarage was located in Wyesham across the river, and vicar and parishioners on that side of the river arrived for service by ferry and boat, the steps still in evidence on the riverbank.

Over the years, the river has proved both a blessing and a curse. The watery highway allowed monks to travel far  inland and establish the early Celtic churches along its banks. Wood, stone, and even cast-iron bells were transported via the river. The river though, sometimes went its  own way. Heavy rain often saw the surrounding  meadow flooded, the church built upon a small bump then appearing to float on water. Very heavy rain saw devastating floods when pews and pulpits crashed into the walls and each other as forceful torrents rushed through the church. Brass markers record the height of the varying floods, 1947 marking a flood level well above head height.                                                

And finally, one wonderful curiosity, a handwritten and hand coloured Bible.  The story behind it is so beautifully bizarre I simply invite you to read the accompanying information and wonder at one man's eccentricity.