St Mary-at-Elms, Ipswich

Following Ipswich`s Artethon trail in 2011, I came across No 4 in my list, which was TAM. Honoria Surie, the artist who made Tam, was born in Hertfordshire in 1944. She trained at Watford School of Art and is now a painter and potter. The bronze of Tam, the artist's daughter, is Surie's first work in the field of sculpture and is sited on a short plinth on the grass triangle between Black Horse Lane and St Mary Elms Church. The statue is made of bronze and has a calm and serene feel to it in keeping with its location

Sculpture of a teenage girl sitting cross-legged in dungarees molding a ball of clay. 

Then, as if by magic, I found another piece of art nearby on the porch of the small church, St Mary Elms, popularly known by Ipswich people as simply the Elms. A return visit to the church had to the wait until 2019!

The three small niches above the porch door of the Church, furnished with contemporary relief sculptures by Charles Gurrey in 2006. The three modern sculptures worked in Ancaster hard white limestone replaced those which would have been in place until the 16th century Anglican Reformation. The sculptures depict The Blessed Virgin, depicted as Stella Maris, Our Lady Star of the Sea because of the importance of this dedication for the ancient port of Ipswich (left), St John the Evangelist holding the gospel inscribed with his symbol, an eagle (right) and in the centre Christ as the Saviour of the World with the lettering: 'SALVATOR MUNDI' - Latin for Saviour of the World.

Another one of the Artethon Trail to register! 

Fast forward to today (2019) and a visit to the church itself. It is a rather cute, little Anglo-catholic shrine.

To quote from an internet source: "until the early 1990s, the Elms maintained a militantly Anglo-catholic tradition, and a fairly steady congregation of people who liked that kind of thing. But the decision of the Church of England to go its own way on the issue of women priests had consequences here, and a number of the congregation were received into the Catholic Church. The surviving parish members might have just soldiered on in that martyred fashion beloved of Forward in Faith members in the mid-1990s, but instead the church renewed itself as a welcoming and sacramental space for pilgrims, strangers and passers-by, not just for Mass and the devotions of the Anglo-Catholic faithful, but simply as a peaceful place." Quotation from http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/

Situated, logically, in Elm Street this ancient church has its own significance in the history of Ipswich. There was an earlier church near this site, dedicated to St Saviour, but St Mary-at-Elms is known to have existed by 1204 and may be older. In a charter of 1204, both St Mary-At-Elms and St Saviour's are named among the possessions of the Austin Priory of the Holy Trinity, which was situated on the site of Christchurch Mansion. St Mary-at-Elms is again named as a possession of Holy Trinity in 1291, and it remained so until the priory was dissolved in 1536. It was rebuilt in the early 14th century and it had a nave and chancel, together occupying the length of the present nave, with north and south transepts, and presumably a tower. The north aisle and the west tower, both of brick, were added in the 15th century. In 1848 the south porch was repaired and the 12th century doorway restored. There was a restoration by R. M. Phipson in 1860, with the major rebuilding of the chancel by E. F. Bisshopp in 1883.

The Norman doorway is by no means Suffolk's finest. But there is considerable evidence to show that the door, and its decorative ironwork, is as old. It is probably the original 11th century door. This would make it one of the earliest structures still in use for its original purpose in the county.

Our Lady Grace of Ipswich

The High Alter

Around the walls of the church are Stations Of The Cross. 

To quote from Catholic Online: The Stations of the Cross are a 14-step Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth as a man. The 14 devotions, or stations, focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. The stations are commonly used as a mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from station to station. At each station, the individual recalls and meditates on a specific event from Christ's last day. Specific prayers are recited, then the individual moves to the next station until all 14 are complete.

I photographed all of them around the interior wall of the church, and they can be seen HERE. You will notice that there are 15 stations in this church.

The somewhat bizarre memorial on the north Chancel wall - not sure for whom, as it is all in Latin.

The "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" (A Christogram being a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a religious symbol within the Christian Church.)

This one was on the banner on the wall of the church. The story goes that this symbol was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. That`s just one of the stories.

This Millennium Wall hanging was decorated by members of the congregation, here in St Marys. From top, and moving clockwise, each segment represents a century since Jesus time, and from a christian point of view. Very clever I thought. To see the list of what they represent, click HERE.

All the glass work in the windows is 19 Century, as in many churches. Originals, no doubt trashed by the Puritans!

A gateway to the north of the St Mary-at-Elms tower takes you through to the St Mary-at-Elms cottage of 1487, named by many as the oldest inhabited building in Ipswich. It once stood in the grounds of Thomas Seckford's estate and housed those who looked after his stables. Thomas Seckford (1515-1587), M.P. for the borough, founder of Woodbridge School and courtier of Elizabeth I, built a mansion, Great Place, at the north of the estate fronting Westgate Street. In 1846 the dilapidated mansion was partially demolished to cut through Museum Street. (Incidentally the bulbous bannisters – and perhaps the staircase – in Arlington's Restaurant, Museum Street come from Great Place although I have not seen them myself). The cottage was restored in 1984-5 and now houses a Parish Room on the ground floor with a flat above.

So an interesting couple of visits to an area I had not visited before. Despite being within 2-300 meters of it many, many, times!

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Llangollen: The Two Ladies

We had read about the "Two Ladies" of Llangollen, and our interest raised. So, today we visited their house in Llangollen. To start with, we believed they were just eccentric ladies, but the story that began to fall into place was far more than that! An abridged version of their life appears HERE and its worth reading before looking at the images. However, below are the first two paragraphs to wet the appetite!

This is the story of two aristocratic ladies who eloped together to Wales in 1778 and lived happily ever after in a cottage ornée,(decorated cottage) surrounded by gardens full of Gothic follies. Their names were Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, but they were better known as the Ladies of Llangollen, "the two most celebrated virgins in Europe".Although the Ladies wished to live in "delightful retirement" - reading, writing, drawing and gardening - the fashionable world soon beat a path to their cottage door. Their visitors included the Duke of Wellington, Lady Caroline Lamb, Josiah Wedgwood, William Wordsworth, Thomas de Quincey, Prince Paul Esterhazy and the Duke of Gloucester; their pen-friends included Queen Charlotte, Lord Byron and Louis XVI's aunt. There were many days when the Ladies had up to 20 visitors in relays, entertaining literally morning, noon and night.

Why did two country spinsters become so famous? It is hard to imagine today how sensational it was in the 18th century for unmarried ladies to live independently, whether singly or together. In addition, the circumstances of Eleanor and Sarah's elopement were positively melodramatic.

So, here is my first view of the house. A rather dull, drizzly day, but it shows off the frontage and the formal gardens. These are kept beautifully, even if they are awaiting funds to renovate the rest of the gardens.

The front door - not the usual front door seen today! 

The rear of the property

And one of the ends of the property, but it is the interior which is really magical!. As it is forbidden to take photos inside, I hope these exterior images, plus the text, will give you some idea of amazing interior. 

Unfortunately, the garden has not been fully restored as yet. Awaiting funds I believe. To the left you can see, just inside the grotto they had built, you can see the font from Crucis Abbey. The Summer house is at the top of the picture. On a damp, miserable day like today it rather shows its unkempt nature. No doubt it will be revived to its 1800s splendor sometime. 

The ornate gate on another small summer house? 

An unusual pagoda-like garden tower. A really entertaining morning wandering through this quirky house and listening to the story. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. 

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Corwen and onto Rug Chapel

We left the Two Ladies and drove a short distance along the A5 to Corwen for lunch, where we were confronted by this magnificent statue, as we left the carpark - apparently The last Welsh Prince of Wales.

Owain Glyndŵr was probably born in the 1350s (the plinth gives 1349). The young Owain was a typical nobleman, his etiquette honed at the Inns of Court in London.

He had homes in Carrog, near Corwen, and Sycharth in Powys (near Oswestry). He fought with the English against the Scots and Dutch before King Richard II was abducted in Colwyn Bay in 1399 and dethroned by supporters of Henry Bolingbroke, who then became Henry IV.

It’s unclear whether the change of monarch affected the outlook of middle-aged Glyndŵr. At around this time he began to argue with a neighbour, Baron Reginald Grey of Ruthin. In September 1400 he attacked Ruthin, and followed up with raids on other local boroughs. This quickly escalated into full-scale rebellion, as Welsh people saw a chance to hit back at English settlers and the privileges they received

The rebellion received military aid from France and powerful English allies. In 1404, envoys from overseas and Scotland watched his coronation as Prince of Wales, at a parliament held in Machynlleth. 

With most of Wales under his control, in 1405 Glyndŵr and his allies drew up an agreement to overthrow the king and divide the country in three, with a considerable chunk of England added to Wales. However, French support dwindled, the rebels lost ground in Wales and in 1409 the English recaptured Harlech Castle – which had been Glyndŵr’s stronghold. 

Glyndŵr was never captured, and it’s presumed that he died in hiding c.1415.

This life-size bronze statue of Owain Glyndŵr on his horse was installed in the square at Corwen in 2007. It stands on an eight-ton plinth of polished granite.

Commissioned as a workhouse in 1837, and originally housing 150 paupers. The building was partly remodelled c1900, when many of the original windows, considered out of keeping with the more enlightened approach of the time, were replaced with larger ones. It closed in 1941, and was subsequently used as a factory. It is now a craft centre and guest house.

The parish church of Corwen has two saints - St Sulien & St Mael. A bit unusual I thought. 

It has a few interesting things about it, as have many churches, having seen centuries of history unfold around and in them. 

Corwen churchyard may have been in religious use since before Christianity came to Wales. A prehistoric standing stone is incorporated into the porch. Early Christian missionaries, in the 6th or 7th century, may have been attracted to the site by its established religious use (a ploy used a lot by early christians) and by the spring, just above the churchyard, which would have provided water for baptising converts. 

By 1222 there were 16 clerics at Corvaen, reflecting its regional importance. The church building in the 13th century was unusually large, as was the parish – covering 13 townships. The church tower was probably added in Tudor times. The church windows were described in 1730 as “lamentable” for admitting too little light, and by 1777 money had been raised to provide more and bigger apertures. 

The font dates from the 11th century and features Norman “cable pattern” around the base

Under the yew tree west of the church is the grave of a GWR locomotive driver called Owen Owen, who died on 5 April 1872 aged 29 (a newspaper family notice at the time recorded him as Owen Owens, and his date of death as 4 April). His epitaph includes shunting, whistling, signals and other railway terms. It was worth visiting just to see this!

The prehistoric standing stone Incorporated into the building.

Foot-stones with twin, and sometimes triple depressions on their tops, were allegedly used by descendants to awkwardly kneel and pray at the graves of their ancestors. There are others who have suggested they were simply shaped foot-stones and couldn’t have practically been used in this way: perhaps it is folklore?

Our last stop today in our busy itinerary, was to Rug Chapel. `Not another one`! I hear you say, but hold on, this one is unique - almost.

The chapel’s plain exterior gives little hint of the riches within! Never judge a chapel, or a church for that matter, by its exterior. Step inside 17th-century Rug Chapel and prepare to be wowed by its decorative flourishes. If you’re a fan of minimalism, you may want to take a deep breath before entering. Its founder, the arch-Royalist Colonel William Salesbury, created a private chapel complete with high church pretensions and a zany style to counter puritanical notions of the time. Being a private chapel it escaped, unscathed into the 21st century.

You can never have enough wood carvings or rose motifs. Colonel Salesbury was mad for them, whether it was on the altar rails, family pews, painted gallery or bench ends. A real show off in wood.

The balcony and lights, complete with candles!

Pew ends, have you ever seen the like? Beautiful workmanship.

The font. Not sure, but possible original.

Wall painting with skeleton, skull and hour glass reminds viewers (In Welsh verse) that time flies and life is short.

One of the four angel carvings adorning the base of roof trusses.

A band of these colourful panels line the chapel at the top of the walls and also some lower down, amazing. A remarkable building which escaped the puritanical ravages - thanks to its being hidden away on an estate.

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The Chain Bridge and Valle Crucis Abbey

A round trip was on the agenda for today, encompassing several sites we had `bookmarked` in our minds before we set out. Our starting point was the town of Llangollen which was about 7 miles away. Llangollen is a very `pretty` town, for want of another word! Also famous for the International Musical Eisteddfod which is a music festival taking place every year during the second week of July. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around the world are invited to take part in over 20 competitions followed each evening by concerts on the main stage. Over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 50,000 over the 6 days of the event.

Llangollen takes its name from the Welsh llan meaning "a religious settlement" and Saint Collen, a 6th-century monk who founded a church beside the river. St Collen is said to have arrived in Llangollen by coracle. There are no other churches in Wales dedicated to St Collen, and he may have had connections with Colan in Cornwall and with Langolen in Brittany.

Leaving the car park, we headed along the river side toward the town.

Llangollen Bridge is known as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Wales’ and was built by Bishop John Trevor c. 1345. Widened in the 16th and 20th centuries, it allowed the town to develop on both sides of the river Dee, which rises in Snowdonia and flows through Bala Lake to Chester.

Another `must see` - The Chain bridge in Berwyn. 

The first chain bridge here was built by Exuperius Pickering in order to transport coal, lime, stone, etc from the Shropshire Union Canal, (Llangollen Canal) across the Dee to Telford's recently completed London to Holyhead road. The bridge allowed Pickering to bypass the Llangollen toll bridge further downstream, and transport coal from his mines near Acrefair up the canal and onward to Corwen. Permission to build it was granted in 1814 and it was completed by 1818, making it one of the first chain bridges in the world. 

The second bridge was built by railway engineer and industrialist Henry Robertson in 1876 using the existing chains of the first bridge. 

The chain bridge was rebuilt as a suspension footbridge reusing some of the existing chains. In 2015 its complete restoration (£465,000) after years of neglect was completed and it is now a major tourist attraction. So, having walked across it, here are my images! 

The Chain bridge and Chainbridge Hotel. 

The picturesque Berwyn railway station is a railway station on the former cross-country line between Ruabon and Barmouth. The station, which opened in May 1865, was a stop on the Great Western Railway(GWR) line between Llangollen and Corwen. It was closed by British Rail in January 1965. 

In 1986 the station was reopened as part of the heritage Llangollen Railway. It is now reportedly among one of the best 10 stations to visit in Britain. 

And just as we were taking our picture, we witnessed the arrival of this locomotive - unfortunately not steam! 

And so onto Horseshoe falls. Here Telford tapped the River Dee for the water supply for the Llangollen and Shropshire Union Canal. 

The picturesque church dates from the 7th Century. Additions have been made over the centuries, some taken from Valle Crucis Abbey which is not very far away, and was next on our list today.. Robert Browning worshiped here and there is a commemorative plaque in the church. The present building was erected around 1180 CE. 

A general view of the interior 

A closeup of the 14 C Eagle Lectern. 

And then onto the Valle Crucis Abbey ruins. It never ceases to amaze me at the craftsmanship that many of these old ruins hold testament too. People don`t change: as then, so now, the bigger and grander, the better to impress (awe?) the local serfs, the better.

Showing the amazing amount of work that this building must have taken. 

The Chapter House

Valle Crucis Abbey was founded in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, on the site of a temporary wooden church and was the last Cistercian monastery to be built in Wales. Founded in the principality of Powys Fadog, Valle Crucis was the spiritual centre of the region, while Dinas Bran was the political stronghold. The abbey took its name from the nearby Pillar of Eliseg, which was erected four centuries earlier by Cyngen ap Cadell, King of Powysin memory of his great-grandfather, Elisedd ap Gwylog. (See below) 

Madog was buried in the then-completed abbey upon his death in 1236. Not long after Madog's death, it is believed that a serious fire badly damaged the abbey, with archaeological evidence that the church and south range were affected. 

The location on which Valle Crucis was raised was originally established as a colony of twelve monks from Strata Marcella, an earlier abbey located on the western bank of the River Severn near Welshpool. The original wooden structure was replaced with stone structures of roughly faced rubble. The completed abbey is believed to have housed up to about sixty brethren, 20 choir monks and 40 lay-members who would have carried out the day-to-day duties including agricultural work. The numbers within the church fluctuated throughout its history and the monks and the abbey itself came under threat from various political and religious events. The abbey is believed to have been involved in the Welsh Warsof Edward I of England during the 13th century, and was supposedly damaged in the uprising led by Owain Glyndŵr. Numbers also fell after the Black Death ravaged Britain. 

In 1537, Valle Crucis was dissolved, as it was deemed not prosperous compared to the more wealthy English abbeys. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site fell into disrepair, and the building was given to Sir William Puckering on a 21-year lease by Henry VIII. By the late 16th century the eastern range was converted into a manor house. Valle Crucis remained with the Wotton family, and was inherited by the 2nd Baron Wotton, but upon his death it was passed to Hestor Wotton, his third daughter. Hestor married Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden and the abbey entered the family's ownership, before being sold shortly afterwards when the estate was sequestered by Parliament in 1651. By the late 18th century the building that remained were re-roofed and the site was used as a farm, before excavations were undertaken in the later half of the 19th century. 

Eliseg's Pillar is the remaining portion of a tall round-shafted cross of Mercian type, which gave its name to the valley and the neighboring abbey. All that survives today is part of the rounded lower shaft, on one side of which it is just possible to see weathered traces of early lettering. The roll mouldings at the top of the surviving section mark the point at which the squared and tapering upper portion of the cross would have originated; this may have continued to a height similar to that of the rounded shaft before being surmounted by a cross-head. 

The cross was pulled down in the 17th century during the Civil War, and the rest had been removed before this column was re-erected by T. Lloyd of Trevor Hall, and event commemorated in the late inscription on the rear. The mound was excavated at this time, and a skeleton found in a long cist, but it is not clear from the description whether this burial was prehistoric or early medieval. 

Fortunately, a detailed record of the original inscription was made in 1696 by the antiquarian Edward Lhuyd, before the lettering deteriorated to its present extent. Where his reading can still be checked, it appears to be reliable. Much of the wording was illegible, even in Lhuyd's time, but sufficient survived to allow an interpretation of the purpose and date of the monument. 

The monument was probably erected in the early 9th century, celebrating the exploits of a king up to a century earlier. Eliseg's campaigns may have provoked the construction of Offa's Dyke by the English, as a defence against the Welsh, in the mid 8th century. 

Our last point of interest for the day was to travel through Horseshoe Pass. This was the photo I took on a very misty day. The Horseshoe Pass (Welsh: Bwlch yr Oernant, "Pass of the Cold Stream") is a mountain pass in Denbighshire, north-east Wales. It separates Llantysilio Mountain to the west from the 565 metre (1,854 feet) mountain and Marilyn Cyrn-y-Brain to the east. The A542 road from Llandegla to Llangollen runs through the pass, reaching a maximum height of 417 metres (1,368 ft). The road travels in a horseshoe shape around the sides of a valley, giving the pass its English name. 

This route dates from 1811, when a turnpike road was constructed across the area. As with the rest of the roads in the Clwydian Range, it is not uncommon for sheep to gather in the road, sometimes causing problems for drivers. The road is also frequently closed in winter due to snowfall or landslides - I can well imagine! 

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