Herefordshire Again - Part 2: Dilwyn Village and St Mary's.

 

Dilwyn is another village on the "black and white village trail" although really more of a hamlet than a village from what I could see.  Again there are quite a few timber framed buildings.

This art trail looks good! Sadly I don't think I would want to be at the caravan site over a bank holiday (too busy) and the dreaded building work has commenced next door.  We have made it clear to our neighbour he will not be allowed access to our garden to put up scaffolding.  I don't think it went down at all well - he seemed to think because he had planning permission he could do what he liked and failed to understand that planning permission is not the same as rights of access!!!!! However, I am still concerned that there may be some attempt to do it without our permission especially if we are not here!!!!!

Millennium Stone

One of the many things I love about Herefordshire is that each village seems to have a church and at least one pub!

St Mary Dilwyn

The church is fairly large and mainly 13th century with an earlier west tower of c1200. The recessed shingle spire is a later addition by James Cranston 1862/63.

The War Memorial by the gate is a large stone figure of a rifleman by W G Storr Baker 1920.

I shall have to return as I am intrigued by the suggestion there is a labyrinth there which I missed!

And so into the church which was restored by G C Haddon 1866-67.  Most furnishings date from then.

Royal Arms of George III

Stained Glass in the Chancel mainly by Heaton Butler and Bayne

East Window

Censing angels

Kneelers

Stone Pulpit by Forsyth from Victorian Restoration.  Is it just me or am I the only one not to get excited by stone pulpits?  

The Knight's Tomb 

(sorry the photos are awful - the tomb was obscured by seating so difficult to get pictures and the light was really poor).

According to Pevsner it is a restored early C14th knight wearing a mail coif. His hand rests on his sword and the other holds a shield with a large lion on it.

An information board in the church surmises it may be the resting place of Sir Gilbert Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot of Goodrich.  Born 1332 at Goodrich Castle he married Petronella Butler before September 1352.  He died in 1387 in Spain where he took part in the disastrous Anglo Portugese invasion of Castille by John of Gaunt.  Many of the English died from disease perhaps dysentery or the plague or perhaps from sheer exhaustion.  Less than half returned home alive.

To make way for the organ the tomb was moved in 1867 and opened.  Bones inside were apparently in a good state of preservation and the teeth complete suggesting a man at the prime of life.  He was a powerfully built man of medium height.

There is no way to be sure that it is Sir Gilbert as the lion rampant on the shield were the arms of both the Talbot and Tyrell families. Unfortunately the colour has faded which makes it more difficult to identify which family it is.

It took us a few minutes to work out how the door lock worked!

Features missed ( this is more of an aide memoire for me for when I return!)

• Labyrinth
• Godwin floor tiling
• Rood Stair Turret
• Oak Reredos
• C14th Norman tub font 
• Wrought iron font cover hanging on wall
• Rood Screen top mostly from Restoration
• A few C14th tiles
• C13th and C14th coffin lids with foliated crosses on a wheel
• Exterior Moated Site of Castle
• Carved Dragons on the Rood Screen

I missed a lot although to be fair we were not there long and had only gone in because D was looking for the loo in the vestry!

On the way back we stopped off at Monkland Cheese Dairy Shop for some cheese and Mr G's barbecue sauce.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.(I don't particularly rate most of my photos but if anyone ever wishes to use any I would be grateful for an email first - thanks)

Reference: The Buildings of England Herefordshire by Nikolaus Pevsner and Alan Brooks (Yale University Press)