Welsh Journals

The RUTHIN Illustrated Magazine. A BS0HTHLY J0BRHAL FOR ALL CLASS1S* To Inform. To Instruct. To Amuse. No. 3. Vol. 1. APRIL, 1879. TWO PENCE. ANCIENT CROSSES in this VALE OF CLWYS) AND OTHEB ECCLESIASTIC REMAINS. BY THE BEV. ELIAS OWEN, M>A. There are a good number of crosses or po tions of crosses to be met with in churchyards, on road sides, or meeting of roads, and, occasionally, in wild unfrequented places in Wales ; and the Vale of Clwyd is not deficient in these monuments of primitive Christianity. A few notes on those in the neighbourhood of Ruthin cannot fail to interest the local, secular, and ecclesiastical antiquary. The first cross that we shall notioe is that of Llanrhydd. But before doing so, we will make a few remarks upon this interesting Church. Llan¬ rhydd Church ia a small ancient edifice, about a mile from Ruthin. The Bev. D. R. Thomas, in his History of the Diocese of Asaph, supposes Llanrhydd Church to be the mother Church of Ruthin. He remarks : " Many circumstances combine to shew that this (Llanrhydd Church) was the mother Church of Ruthin, but that it was early eclipsed by the growing importance of its daughter capella." Portions of the present building are evidently very old. The internal arrangements are, if we except the repewing, much what they were in pre-reformation times. There is a good west-end gallery still in existence, which was occupied, at one time, by the choir. The screen is still in an excellent state of perservation. Lately the church was judiciously repaired, the roof re-Slated, and the walls ex¬ ternally cleared of coatings of mortar and white¬ wash. This brought to light a north window in the chancel which apparently had been closed to make way for a monument to the memory of Ambrose Thelwall, who died 1(553. There are two doors to the church, a west and a south door with porch. The congregation!' of a Sunday enters the church through the west door, but on the oc¬ casion, of .a funeral, the procession enters through the west door and leaves the church through the south door. This is or was the custom on such occasions in most if not all the churches in the Vale. When the cross was complete the most striking object that would meet the view of the mourners as they came out of Llanrhydd Church, would be the cross in the churchyard. This cross stands about 15 yards from the church, and 11 yards- from the porch. The shaft is 9 feet high, and 1' foot square at the base where it enters the stone pedestal. The pedestal is octagonal with chamfered sides, and measures as it now stands 1 foot 7 in. in height, on' the east side, but, ;its height on the west sicle is about 1 ft., this differ¬ ence is caused by an accumulation of earth on the west side; its breadth is on the top about 2 ft. 8 in.; at the base it is several inches broader. The pedestal stands on a mound, which, if looked into, would be found to cover steps, for in times past, and up to within the memory of the living, parish notices were usually published by the parish clerk from the foot of the churchyard cross. The mound is 6 ft. 6 in. across, and about 2 ft. high. The shaft and pedestal are covered with lichen, a; proof of their extreme age. The shaft is, at its base, square, but it assumes an octagonal form a few inches from the base, and gradually decreases in breadth to the top thereof. All that exists of the Llanrhydd cross is its base, pedestal, and shaft, the cross itself has disappeared, pro¬ bably it ha 8 been destroyed. It is somewhat singular that the shaft should have been suffered to stand when the cross was removed. The top of the shaft entered the cross head, and the mortise therein must have been 9 inches deep, and .con¬ sequently the cross must have been a pretty large one. On the east side of the shaft are the initials E. J. and underneath, the date 1677. or 1672, on this side also are six short scorings. On the north side of the shaft, also, are initial markings with the date 1824, There are four heads in relief on four sides of the shaft about 3 ft. from the top, and underneath these heads ar* small floriated ornaments. (To be continued./