pointed steeple, which is about 54 ft. high. The principal entrance to the church is on the south side, through an open timber porch, with stone foundations. The chancel is separated from the nave by two steps and a low stone screen, another step leading from the choir and a fourth at the altar rails. The altar itself is raised on a footpace one step above the rest of the sacrarium. The stone for the chancel and altar steps was procured from the Forest of Dean. The chancel is 24 ft. 6 in. long by 16 ft. wide, inside measurement; the organ chamber and vestry, on the north side measures only 13 ft. 6 in. by 10 ft. 6 in., and is scarcely large enough for its purpose. The church is floored with encaustic tiles, and is heated by a hot water apparatus placed under the vestry. The reading-desk and choir are in the chancel, and the pulpit between the chancel and vestry-room, facing the centre of the church. The pulpit and font are of Bath stone; the former circular, with six Gothic panels; the latter octagonal, with foliated circles on the alternate sides1 The reredos is of Caen stone, carved by Earp, and has in its centre a square slab of the darkveined marble called Rouge Royal, with arcaded panels on either side. Beneath is an inscription to the memory of Mrs. Brewster, wife of the Rector, who died shortly before the church was completed. The legend runs, "E. H. B. obdormivit in Xto, Kal. Apr. 1868." On the north side of the chancel a credence is provided by the deepening of the window-shelf, and on The old Font, according to the late Sir Stephen R. Glynne's Notes on the Older Churches in the Four Welsh Dioceses, "appears to be Norman, octagonal in form, with a kind of scalloped ornament on each face; at the base a moulded band" (Arch. Camb., 5th Series, vol. ii, p. 41). There is a sketch of it among the Parker Drawings at Sweeney, which shows it to have been, as noted there, "of the same design as Llanyblod wel, J.P.;" but without the later ornamentation added to the latter by Mr. Parker. What has become of it? Can anyone say where it is?-D. R. T. the opposite side is a double piscina, and a sedile in the adjoining window-seat. The church is lighted by large east and west windows in the chancel and nave, and by two windows in the ends of the north aisle. On the south side are two Decorated windows of three lights, and two of two lights, and one single-light lancet. In the north wall are two of two lights and one of three lights, and in the vestry is a three-light window. The The timber-work of the roof and the seats is of pitch pine; the reading-desk, choir seats, and vestry-screen are of oak, and the communion table of cedar. doors are of oak lined with pitch pine. The centre and south row of seats contain about 220 appropriated sittings; the choir, the north row, and the west end are free, and will seat about 130 persons. The only property of the old church which it was found possible to utilise in the new building consisted of the bell, the communion plate, and the communion table. The church bell, the only one, is said, in the Terrier of 1856, to weigh about 4 cwt.; the diameter at the rim is 2 ft. 1 in., and the note is F natural. The legend around the bell is, "Tho. Davies & Roger Garland, Ch: Wardens. A. R. The letters A.R, with a bell between them, are most probably the mark of Abraham Rudhall, a well-known bell-founder of the period. There is nothing to shew whether this was a new bell bought in 1729 or recast from the old bell mentioned in the accounts in 1688. The communion plate is that purchased in 1850, to replace the set which had been stolen in the previous year. It consists of a silver flagon, weighing 30 oz. 16 dwts., hall-marked 1848; a chalice, weighing 11 oz. 16 dwts., marked 1842; and a paten, weighing 11 oz. 4 dwts., hall-marked 1848. On each piece is engraved "Llandysilio, 1850." The old communion table is a small square table, and is now used in the vestry. The work of pulling down the old church actually began on the 28th May, 1867, an agreement having been entered upon on the 22nd of that month with. Mr. John Potter of Welshpool to take down the old building and complete the new one by the end of March in the following year. The usual delays no doubt occurred, and the consecration of the new church did not take place till the 8th August, 1868. It is said that the contractor got into financial difficulties in carrying out some other church work in the county, and that the trustees of his affairs completed the building of Llandysilio Church. Mr. Street complained of the inferior quality of some of the work done by the contractor's representatives, viz., the oak timber of the porch and chancel sittings, and the glass of the windows. No serious difficulty, however, arose. The Clerk of the Works was Mr. William James, an active and capable man, who carefully and conscientiously carried out the duties entrusted to him. He, unfortunately, did not live to see the work completed; he was taken ill and died in the village, and was buried in Llandysilio churchyard on the 2nd July, about a month before the church was consecrated. Considerable alterations were made in the appearance of the burial-ground at the time the church was rebuilt. The ground on the north side, which sloped suddenly down from the church to the outer wall, was raised a few feet by filling up the intervening space with the rubble procured from the walls of the old building. There were then scarcely any graves on that side of the church; a prejudice, which has not yet been quite surmounted, existing against burials on the north, or shady side of the building. The tombstones, many of which were raised on brickwork and in a very dilapidated state, were levelled even with the ground; some, which were broken and quite illegible, were removed, and a neater and more orderly appearance given to the whole churchyard. Two Gothic windows, of Decorated character, were removed from the old church and placed in the north and south walls of the national schoolroom, and the modern east window, which consisted of three plain lancets, was transferred to the same building. This east window was erected in 1834 at the expense of the Curate, the Rev. John Poole. It formerly contained three heraldic shields with the arms of the LLoyd, Wingfield, and Turner families, which were paid for by their respective representatives, and returned to them at the time of the removal of the window to the schoolroom. The church, when completed, was a work of which the parishioners might well feel proud, whether they regarded it as a handsome specimen of correct architecture-a pattern of good and substantial workmanship-or as a pleasing instance of financial and other difficulties successfully surmounted. To the eminent architect himself the building must have afforded considerable satisfaction, even when he compared it with many more important works on which he had been engaged. He has left behind him, among the parish papers, plans, sections, and elevations of the building, and a great number of drawings of the various details. An examination of these designs will impress the most careless and superficial observer with a sense of their beauty, and with the immense amount of care and labour which has been expended upon them. Every window, every arch, and every moulding, seems to have been the object of the architect's special and individual attention. He appears to have had an intense dislike and contempt for monotony, and idle or thoughtless repetition of detail. There are scarcely two windows alike in the whole building each one is appropriate and well fitted to the place it occupies. It is said that the architect never allowed a design to leave his hands until he was thoroughly satisfied that he could not better it. The new church was consecrated by the Bishop of St. Asaph (T. V. Short) on Saturday, August 8th, 1868. A full choral service was held at 12 o'clock; the choir, under the direction of Signor Gorge, of Liverpool, being assisted by volunteers from many neighbouring parishes. Canons Henry Glynne and Wynne Edwards, the Rev. E. Robinson, and Prebendary William Short took part in the service, and the sermon was preached by the Bishop from Psalm 103, verse 1. The offertory amounted to £67 17s. 6d. After the service a luncheon was given by Mr. J. J. Turner, at Pentre Heylin, to about one hundred and forty guests, including, in addition to those already mentioned, Archdeacon Foulkes, Rev. W. Brewster, Rev. J. Luxmoore, and many neighbouring families. The total cost of rebuilding and refitting the church, levelling the churchyard and other incidental expenses amounted to about £2400, a very moderate sum, when we consider the extent and quality of the work done. The following is the account of the expenditure which was published in the course of the next year :— STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE REBUILDING OF THE PARISH CHURCH OF LLANDYSILIO. |