St Martin's Church, Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire 15 July 2014
This WW1 memorial plaque, 5 inches (120mm) in diameter, known familiarly as "Dead Man's Penny" due to a superficial resemblance to the much smaller penny has been set into this stone by, presumably Thomas Bevan's parents who died in 1939 and 1943. 1,355,000 of these were struck and presented to the families of all servicemen killed in WW1. Designed by Edward Carter Preston and entitled "Pyramus", it depicts Britannia offering a wreath of laurel leaves to the deceased's name, with two dolphins representing Britain's maritime power. In the exergue, under the main lion, another lion is devouring a German eagle. Preston's initials are over the lion's paw. Rank was deliberately omitted to represent equal sacrifice. This is an earlier version produced in 1919 before production moved to Woolwich. Early models have no number behind the lion's rear leg.
St Martin's is buried deep in the Monmouthshire countryside some seven miles north of Abergavenny, above the river Honddu. The church is known, with justification, as "the crooked church" due to the crazy angles which parts of the structure skew from each other. It dates back to at least the Middle Ages and a dedication to St Martin is not common. The church, with another St Martin's at Bwlch Trewyn (now completely vanished without trace) is on the old pilgrimage route to St David's in Pembrokeshire (two pilgrimages to St David's equated to one pilgrimage to Rome).The church owes its crooked appearance to having been built on a landslip; Cwmyoy (Cwmiou, Cwm Iau) derives its name from the Welsh for "yoke", the landslip in the hill above leaving a yoke shape in the terrain. Legend has it that the landslip occurred at the time of the crucifixion. The tower leans 5.2 degrees out of perpendicular (the Leaning Tower of Pisa is 4.7 degrees).
Of interest are various monuments and the 13th/14th Century cross in the nave. This is unusual in that it shows Christ wearing a bishop's mitre. It is believed to have been one of the crosses marking the Pilgrims' Way to St David's. It was discovered buried on a nearby farm in 1861 and set up in the farm garden, being transferred to the tower inside the church in 1935. In 1967 it was stolen, but identified in an antiques shop in London and restored to the church where it is now set in concrete.
There is a simple font inside by the entrance , and in the churchyard, a mediaeval preaching cross.
St Martin's Church, Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire 15 July 2014
This WW1 memorial plaque, 5 inches (120mm) in diameter, known familiarly as "Dead Man's Penny" due to a superficial resemblance to the much smaller penny has been set into this stone by, presumably Thomas Bevan's parents who died in 1939 and 1943. 1,355,000 of these were struck and presented to the families of all servicemen killed in WW1. Designed by Edward Carter Preston and entitled "Pyramus", it depicts Britannia offering a wreath of laurel leaves to the deceased's name, with two dolphins representing Britain's maritime power. In the exergue, under the main lion, another lion is devouring a German eagle. Preston's initials are over the lion's paw. Rank was deliberately omitted to represent equal sacrifice. This is an earlier version produced in 1919 before production moved to Woolwich. Early models have no number behind the lion's rear leg.
St Martin's is buried deep in the Monmouthshire countryside some seven miles north of Abergavenny, above the river Honddu. The church is known, with justification, as "the crooked church" due to the crazy angles which parts of the structure skew from each other. It dates back to at least the Middle Ages and a dedication to St Martin is not common. The church, with another St Martin's at Bwlch Trewyn (now completely vanished without trace) is on the old pilgrimage route to St David's in Pembrokeshire (two pilgrimages to St David's equated to one pilgrimage to Rome).The church owes its crooked appearance to having been built on a landslip; Cwmyoy (Cwmiou, Cwm Iau) derives its name from the Welsh for "yoke", the landslip in the hill above leaving a yoke shape in the terrain. Legend has it that the landslip occurred at the time of the crucifixion. The tower leans 5.2 degrees out of perpendicular (the Leaning Tower of Pisa is 4.7 degrees).
Of interest are various monuments and the 13th/14th Century cross in the nave. This is unusual in that it shows Christ wearing a bishop's mitre. It is believed to have been one of the crosses marking the Pilgrims' Way to St David's. It was discovered buried on a nearby farm in 1861 and set up in the farm garden, being transferred to the tower inside the church in 1935. In 1967 it was stolen, but identified in an antiques shop in London and restored to the church where it is now set in concrete.
There is a simple font inside by the entrance , and in the churchyard, a mediaeval preaching cross.