Church History

Church History

It will be the immensity of the church tower which first strikes you as you near the village; its size testifies to the importance of this place of worship in 1257 when it was rebuilt after a fire. As you enter the church you will notice the stone arch which surrounds the south door and which may have come from Strata Florida. The church is cruciform in form and has wooden ceilings dating back to the 19th century. The east window depicts the transfiguration of Jesus. On your way along the nave you will notice a stained glass window commissioned by Professor Parrott as a thanksgiving for his life and work. It was designed by John Petts and has as its theme ‘Music in Praise of the Lord’.

Turn left into the north transept, which is the Lady Chapel, and there you will see a statue of the Virgin and Child which was given by the late Canon Geraint Vaughan Jones in memory of his parents. On again to the chancel which was restored in the 15th century and where there was once a rood screen – stone steps in the wall are the only remains. On the chancel floor there is a stone slab commemorating the scholar and antiquarian Lewis Morris who was deputy steward of the Crown Manors in Cardiganshire in the 18th century. There are also memorials to the families of Nanteos and Gogerddan.

On the way back towards the nave turn into the south transept where there is an exhibition of the history of the parish. On the pitch pine screen are lines from the poetry of Dafydd ap Gwilym who is associated with the parish and who was one of the foremost European poets in the Middle Ages. In front of you there is a low altar and on it the chi-ro representing Saint Padarn, who was a contemporary of Dewi and Teilo and an opponent of Maelgwn Gwynedd. It is believed that he came from south-eastern Wales in the 6th century to found a ‘clas’ here at Llanbadarn. You will also see two stone crosses which may be pre-Christian but which were used for Christian purposes between the 9th and 11th centuries. In the wall above there are windows dating back to the 1920s and which are in honour of Padarn, Dewi and Teilo. In this part also is kept a copy of the Welsh Bible translated in 1588 by William Morgan who was once vicar of the parish. In Padarn’s room on the left there is a window depicting themes from the manuscript, ‘The Life of Padarn’, and a porcelain relief sculpture depicting a story from the ‘Life’. Sulien’s room on the other side commemorates Sulien, leader of the ‘clas’ at Llanbadarn and twice Bishop of St. David’s. In the time of Sulien and his sons and grandsons the ‘clas’ at Llanbadarn was an important scriptorium where texts were composed and copied. It was here that Rhygyfarch composed ‘Vita Davidis’ and that Ieuan his brother copied manuscripts and composed poetry. In this room you can also see the ‘Burma Star’ window and the Kohimah Epitaph and, continuing on the same theme, is the memorial to Major General Lewis Pugh of Cwmerau, Glandyfi who served in the far east W.W.2. He was a kinsman of Brigadier General Lewis Pugh Evans V.C. of Lovesgrove, one time Church Warden at Llanbadarn, who is commemorated on the Wall near the Village War Memorial. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery in W.W.1 whilst a Lt. Colonel in the Lincolnshire Regiment.