St Bridget's Church, Skenfrith.

Hi folks,

Remember the church yesterday at the end of the blog, its tower is very unusual  having five foot thick walls and topped by a Dovecote looking structure.  St Bridget's Church is on the Welsh Border and would have sustained sudden raids, so villagers could have sought sanctuary and kept supplies safe and sound.  Now lets take a look inside.

First off what struck me was the lighting, oil lamps everywhere and modern lighting concealed high in the rafters.

Here you can see among other things, stained glass, old light fittings, wall paintings and to the left the Processional Cross which I show a close up of later.

This old desk was at one time used as a temporary altar.

"The Skenfrith Cope", cope being a hooded garment like a cloak or cape is made in the 15th century with English embroidery worked in coloured silks and silver and gilt threads on canvas and then put on velvet.  Not too easy to photograph as it was in a glass cabinet on a wall opposite a window.

This floor was much more uneven than it looks, the sign was a bit of an understatement!

There were some beautiful carvings to do with the history of the church which included acorns, oak leaves, Fleur-de-Lis, Lancaster and Tudor Roses and Pomegranates.  Fascinating how they all came together to show the churches past. 

Note the modern light high up on the beam, the Processional Cross was made in early 1970 from old and new wood, lots of religious symbols going on when you look closely.

Original candle bracket still in place.

Some of the original painting and in the beam above it are the Church Wardens initials R M T G and the year 1663 showing when the last major renovation work had been completed before 1909.

Copies of the Ten Commandments made in 1910 showing the same decorative border and type as the paintings behind the altar.

In the north aisle stands the Morgan Pew, John Morgan was important to the church and died in Skenfrith in 1557 he was also a Member of Parliament in 1553 and 1554, the tomb of him and his wife are nearby.

This window is made up of 15th century glass fragments which had been collected up and re-leaded, note the green tinge and the distortion of the glass compared to the rest.

The porch leading into the church, there is a "floodgate like" barrier to step over as the door is set high up.

This outer wall was built so strongly and like the lamp in the first picture just took my attention.

Quite a long blog tonight, I got a bit carried away with this magnificent church but hope you enjoyed it.  I would like to thank the compiler of the Church Guide for the information which was invaluable and very interesting.

Luv Mike