Capel-y-ffin
Appearance
Capel-y-ffin | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Location within Powys | |
Population | 50 (estimated) |
OS grid reference | SO255315 |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ABERGAVENNY |
Postcode district | NP7 |
Dialling code | 01873 |
Police | Dyfed-Powys |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
Brecon & Radnorshire | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Capel-y-ffin (
, some 8 miles (13 km) to the northwest.History
St Mary's Chapel
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Capel_y_ffin_-_geograph.org.uk_-_145182.jpg/220px-Capel_y_ffin_-_geograph.org.uk_-_145182.jpg)
The name Capel-y-ffin is Welsh, and means "chapel of the boundary" since it lies in the valley of the
St Mary and was built in 1762, replacing an earlier 15th-century structure. It originally served as a chapel of ease for the parish church at Llanigon, but is now within its own ecclesiastical parish. With an interior of just 26 by 13 feet (8 by 4 metres), the chapel is one of the smallest in Wales[2] and reminded diarist Francis Kilvert
of an owl.
On the other side of the
River Honddu is a small, whitewashed Baptist chapel built by the two brothers, William and David Prosser. A wall plaque commemorates their work in bringing The Ministry of the Gospel to their house in the year 1737. And Secured this Place for That Sacred Use for the Time Being. Both died near the End of the Year 1780.[3]
The hamlet was the last Welsh-speaking community in this part of Wales.[4]
The Monastery
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Joseph_Leycester_Lyne.png/100px-Joseph_Leycester_Lyne.png)
In 1869,
Llanthony Tertia', where an eccentric version of monastic life – witnessed by Francis Kilvert – continued till his death in 1908. Lyne is buried in the monastery church which, being poorly built and subsequently neglected, is now partly ruined.[5][6] A memorial trust exists to restore the church and an annual pilgrimage is held between Llanthony Priory and Capel-y-ffin.[7]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/The_Vision_Farm%2C_Capel-y-ffin_-_geograph.org.uk_-_273586.jpg/220px-The_Vision_Farm%2C_Capel-y-ffin_-_geograph.org.uk_-_273586.jpg)
In 1880, Lyne's religious convictions were confirmed by visions of the Virgin Mary seen in the monastery and nearby fields by monks and local farm boys.[5] The Vision Farm, to the south-east of the hamlet, was so renamed as a result of these apparitions. The farm (at least in name) features in the novel On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin, though the author changed its location.
From August 1924 to October 1928, the artist
Resistance by Owen Sheers, set close by in the Olchon Valley
.
References
- ^ "Capel-y-ffin (C) Geraint Smith :: Geograph Britain and Ireland". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ "Welcome to the Parish Magazine for Hay-on-Wye,Llanigon and Capel-y-Ffin in Powys Wales". Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ Keen, Richard & Burgum, Ian Wales, Orion Publishing Group (1997), p. 129.
- ^ E. G. Ravenstein, Celtic Languages of the British Isles, 1878
- ^ a b "Capel-y-ffin". Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ "The Monastery and Grange, Capel-y-ffin (C) Colin Park :: Geograph Britain and Ireland". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ "Ignatius.mi-site.com - Fr Ignatius of Llanthony". Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ISBN 1-85411-051-9
External links
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