Llanwenog
Overlooking the Teifi valley, St Gwenog’s church is one of the best medieval churches in the district and Grade l listed. Besides the four-storeyed west tower, the church possesses a nave and chancel under a single roof and a south chapel.
The imposing fifteenth-century tower, occupying slightly higher ground than the nave, dominates the building. It was built by Sir Rhys ap Thomas, reputedly as a thank-offering for the victory of Henry Vll at the Battle of Bosworth, in which he had fought.
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Situated off the A475 between Lampeter and Newcastle Emlyn. The church is always open for visitors.
Postcode SA40 9UT
OS Grid Ref SN49394553
Nothing is known of St Gwenog (or Gwennog), although her name is found in an early sixteenth-century calendar of saints, which gives her feast day as 3 January. She is represented in the tower’s stained glass west window of around 1900.
The imposing interior is accessed through the west door set in the tower and down steps into the nave, thereby offering a clear view of the fifteenth-century barrel-vaulted ceiling. Set into the wall of the entrance, is a medieval stoup, restored to the church after years of use in the blacksmith’s forge.
The magnificent circular limestone font can be found in the south-west corner of the nave. It is thought to be twelfth century, and is decorated with twelve mask-like faces, representing the twelve disciples of Jesus.
Remnants of early wall painting are evident in the nave, as well as two painted panels, one containing the commandments, the other, part of the Creed in Welsh.
St Gwenog’s is blessed with an abundance of fine wood carvings by Joseph Rubens of Bruges, a refugee displaced by the 1914 German invasion of Belgium in the First World War. He was offered a home by Davies-Evans at nearby Highmead, and during his stay he executed several commissions for the church, including a rood screen, lectern and bench-ends, each remarkable in their own right.
The rood screen is clearly inspired by late medieval work and is decorated with intricate, unconventional tracery. It is topped by a large central sunburst and four smaller ones, presumably representing Christ and the four evangelists. Beneath the central sunburst is an intricately carved dove representing the Holy Spirit, the initials of Rubens and Davies-Evans and the date: 1915.
The screen forms one part of Rubens’ memorial at Llanwenog, to the shared suffering of the Great War for two small nations, Belgium and Wales. Thirty-four pew bench-ends, designed by Mary Davies-Evans and featuring numerous symbols of local history, saints and the war, were carved by Rubens between 1915 and 1919.
In 1922, he completed an unusual lectern design for the church. It is reputed that Rubens considered the conventional eagle design to be a reminder of the symbol of Imperial Germany, the occupier of his homeland. Instead, as a token of thanks to his place of exile, he chose a dragon design, representing the symbol of Wales.
Rubens also carved a wooden war memorial plaque for the village school, complete with effigies of the five ex-pupils who were killed in the Great War 1914-19. The dates were intended to not only memorialise their sacrifice, but also to give thanks for the peace of the Treaty of Versailles. The plaque was originally placed in the village school, but after the school closed, the screen was removed to the church and re-erected in the south chapel.
Rubens’ final contribution to the interior of this lovely church was his carved wood memorial, erected in 1931, in remembrance of his wartime hosts and a faithful servant.
The curvilinear churchyard offers panoramic views and contains a replica of an important early medieval Ogham stone (a form of writing that originated in Ireland) which was discovered locally. There are also several fine examples of nineteenth-century gravestones.
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