Nipping over the Black Mountains, still in Southeast Wales, but just about on the edge of The Marcher Country we have the 13th century St. Jerome at Llangwm Uchaf, again with rood and loft.  I wonder if Don B. came across this one in his travels?  Exterior, interior and detail of carving.  It's a wonder that these little country Churches escaped the destruction of the Puritans, etc., and the 'Improvements' of the Victorians, but it was their remoteness that saved them, although it should be said that the rood was restored in Victorian times and not ripped out as occured in the neighbouring Church at Llangwm Isaf.  These few country Churches remaining unaltered since medieval times are quite outstanding I think.  As far as I know we have 4 of them here in Bandit Country, not sure how many there are in the UK in total?

richard,

I have another two Welsh roods and lofts up me casssock - I am saving the best and oldest until last.  As Gossamer Beynon would say.

Marcher Country is not solely composed of sheep and bucolics with hayseeds in their hair.  Not solely.  Perhaps 80% !!

Some of these are making me positively homesick!

Just to get back to the city for a moment, in the hope anty will produce more idyllic pastoral scenes in due course, here is the Most Holy Redeemer, Clerkenwell from 1892 by J D Sedding.  By this time Victorian architects were getting bit bored with Gothic, and didn't necessarily agree with Pugin's potty theory that Gothic was the only Christian style. So Sedding built a repro of Santo Spirito Florence in what was then a seedy back street.



The street, Exmouth Market is now a trendy paved street with eateries and wine bars a go-go.

In rural Southwest Herefordshire in the tiny village of Hoarwithy there is a little piece of Italy set on a hill overlooking the Wye.  It gave me quite a shock when I first came across it by chance as I had no idea it was there.

Thanks Marty, I'm glad it's of interest to others.  Wales and the Borders has a wealth of little gems, often hidden away and not documented (Hoarwithy is quite famous - Michael Winner filmed there!    ) It's not so much a question of being 'churchy' really but an intense interest in history/architecture I think.  I have always been happy exploring damp old churches, reading memorials and loitering in graveyards!!

Which brings us neatly to the old Dylan Thomas Milk Wood quote about Bach in the graveyard which I promise I won't repeat again 

Oh well, due to public demand I will.

First Voice: Organ Morgan goes to chapel to play the organ. He sees Bach lying on a tombstone.
Organ Morgan: Johann Sebastian!
Cherry Owen (drunkenly): Who?
Organ Morgan: Johann Sebastian mighty Bach. Oh, Bach fach.

Oh, you had to be there!

And here is a view inside of the former church of St Sergius and Bacchus in Istanbul, dating from c525, and built under the Emperor Justinian.  Only ten minutes from the tourist centre of Istanbul and deserted apart from a children's playground next door.  An old caretaker wandered up, unlocked it and allowed us in, after we had removed our shoes.



In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Turks (aggressive, militaristic colonisers are not only European) and the church was turned into a mosque (hence the shoe removal).

The lower left hand corner shows the (steep) stairs up to the (out of sight) pulpit, with the funny little curtained doorway at the foot of the stairs.

Who were Sergius and Bacchus?  This intriguing bit from wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Sergius_and_Bacchus

Erastai

Sergius and Bacchus's close relationship has led some modern commenters to believe they were lovers. The most popular evidence for this view is that the oldest text of their martyrology, in the Greek language, describes them as "erastai", or lovers.[5] Yale historian John Boswell considers their relationship to be an example of an early Christian same-sex union, reflecting his contested view of tolerant early Christians attitudes toward homosexuality.[5] The artist Robert Lentz advocated this view,[6] portraying the men as a gay couple in his religious iconography painting. In his study on "The Origin of the Cult of SS. Sergius and Bacchus" David Woods classified some of Boswell's arguments as "superficial". Other historians and Byzantine analysts, along with the official stance of the Eastern Orthodox Church, argue that the ancient Eastern tradition of adelphopoiia, which was done to form a "brotherhood" in the name of God, and is traditionally associated with these two saints, had no sexual implications.

Another trip to Bandit Country, to the little hamlet of Cwmyoy between Abergavenny and Llanthony in the valley of the Honddu (and on the way to the Gospel Pass)  is the 13th century Church of  St. Martin which I know very well. Not distinguished for its architecture but for the fact that it is totally twisted and crooked.  It was built on ground which was the result of a former landslip.  The mountain above ( Skirrid Fawr or Holy Mountain) has a great gouge cut out of it where the landslip occurred but legend has it that it was the result of an earthquake during the Crucifixion when the Veil of the Temple was torn in two.  The summit contains the remains an iron age fort and the medieval Roman Catholic Church of St Michael which was a secret location for the holding of the Catholic mass in the 17th century period of persecution

The tower leans uphill, the chancel downhill and nothing is at right angles.  The tower was buttressed in medieval times.  There are some beautifully carved Georgian tombstones. You can see the gouge in the mountain and the Church below on the last picture.