St James the Elder is the parish church of Llanvetherine
Church of St James the Elder, Llanvetherine
Llanvetherine church is set in a churchyard sloping down to the River Trothy. Built of old red sandstone with a corbelled tower, the simple interior was possibly rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Features include the lovely timber pulpit with panels of leafy branches and typical lettering. Also you will find interesting monuments including the worn figure of a priest and a life-size relief of a bearded man in academic gown holding a book.
The church of St James the Elder was built just above a tributary of the River Trothy beside what is now the B4521, the Old Ross Road, and is about 6 miles east of Abergavenny. The name ‘Llanvetherine’ is an Anglicised word broadly meaning ‘the parish or land of Gwytherine’. The church and its glebe land were mentioned in the Book of Llandaff, written in about 1150.
‘Cors and Morwyd gave the Church of Saint Gueithirin with three modii of land around it. After a time Cors on his own account gave another three modii above the road next to the other land already mentioned.’ [Three modii is about 27 acres.]
The gift of land was made when Nud was Bishop of Llandaff, and he was among the Clerical Witnesses of the Gift. Bishop Nud is thought to have lived somewhere between 850 and 916, and if so, there has been a Church on this site since at least 150 years before the Norman Conquest. The present building has several Pre–reformation features. The Churchyard has many interesting tombstones of mixed antiquity and legibility.
We have been unable to discover when the church was dedicated to St James, but the wardens were visited in 2014 by an enthusiast for holy wells. She had previously identified two sites, east and west of the church, where holy wells are likely to have been sited. She also pointed out that churches were often dedicated to St James when they were stations along medieval pilgrim routes.
There is a small Priest’s Door in the south wall of the Chancel through which the Pre-reformation priest would have entered to say Mass. In the Old Church, Mass was said in Latin beyond the Rood Screen, out of sight or physical involvement of the congregation in the Nave. The Rood Screen would have divided the Chancel (or Quire) from the Nave.
In the south wall of the Nave there is a tall semi–circular headed window dated 1703. This window allows light onto the pulpit although its original purpose is uncertain. Outside the pulpit window, in the churchyard are the remains of a churchyard or ‘preaching’ cross.
The Porch has a Holy Water Stoop near the main south door, another Pre-reformation feature. A medieval sword has been crudely carved into the threshold of the south door, much of it worn away, but the parts of the hilt are obvious.
Inside the Church there is a Piscina in the southeast corner of the Nave near the Pulpit, and another in the south wall of the Sanctuary. Inside the Chancel Arch is a door on the north side behind the Quire pews. This now leads into a recess, but it was originally the door to the steps leading up to the Rood Loft. On the East wall of the Sanctuary, either side of the East Window, there are two full length stone reliefs of a former Rector and his wife. The Revd David Powell, who died in 1621 after an incumbency of 45 years, was an MA and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. His inscription refers also to his son Valentine, another MA and Rector of Llanvetherine. Mary Powell, wife of David, is shown wearing a Welsh hat and her hands are clasped in prayer. Her feet are oddly placed at right angles to her legs. In his book on the County of Monmouthshire, a well-known Gwent historian, Fred Hando, drew attention to the position of Mrs Powell’s ring:
‘The ring on the second finger of her right hand reminds us that until 1549 the wedding ring was worn on the fourth finger of the right hand.’
There is a large stone laid flat in the Sanctuary to the north of the Altar. It shows a relief figure with one arm raised in blessing. The carving is rather crude, suggesting a considerable age. It was found buried deep under the Chancel during excavations in 1750 and is said to be a carving of Saint Gwytherin himself. It was put outside but eventually began to show signs of deterioration. Within recent memory it was carried back inside to its present position in the church by a group of farmers.
Little seems to be known about the Celtic Saint Gwytherine. Possibly he was the son of Dingat ap Nud Heal, who lived in the 6th Century. There is another Church dedicated to him in Denbighshire in North Wales.
The oldest feature of the Church appears to be the Tower, the upper part of which is jettied. The cradle is made to hold three bells, but there are only two, dated 1582 and 1653 respectively.
The most recent significant changes are probably Victorian and Edwardian. The Nave and Vestry roofs appear more recent, the Chancel archway was restored in 1872, and the current carved oak ‘screen’ is characteristic of the Arts and Crafts movement with Art Nouveau lettering and intricate carvings surrounding the Pulpit but we have yet to find a date or maker’s mark. The East Window is dated 1905 and depicts the Nativity in painted medieval romantic style reminiscent of the Pre-Raphaelites. Unusually Mary is depicted wearing red.
At the time of preparation, to the great regret of the wardens, it isn’t normally possible to keep the church unlocked outside services although there are hopes to be able to make arrangements before long. There is a small lay-by on the opposite side of the B4521 road.
This description has been written for the website, adapted and updated from a leaflet written by the late Mrs Margaret Francis (d. 2005), whose Remains now lie in the Churchyard.
Bell and frame
Carved oak screen
Carvings on the pulpit
Llanvetherine has no village war memorial. However, there are some notable memorials in the churchyard which remember those who served in the World Wars. Following tree surgery adjacent to the road an interesting gravestone came to light. The gravestone identifies William Thomas Keylock, MM, a gunner in the Tank Corps, who evidently was killed in action on 3rd October 1918, a few weeks before the end of WW1, in Estrees. Online searches have revealed that William Keylock is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Gouy, France. Very little is know about him but records identify his wife as B. Gillett (formerly Keylock), of 19A, Woodland Terrace, Cwmtillery, Abertillery, Mon. Is anyone able to throw any light on this gallant man who might possibly deserve remembering each November?
Next to the footpath, about ten yards in from the churchyard gate, is the grave on Eli Withers on which is remembered his son, also named Eli Withers, who was lost at sea aboard HMS Glorious in 1940 aged just 21.
“Fred and Harri” In Llanvetherine Church there is a beautiful stained glass window donated by the Watkins family, Wernycwm. The picture shows the two saints to which the church is dedicated, St James the Elder and St Gwytherin. However, to older residents of the parish they represent Fred and Harri, the two bachelor brothers who farmed Wernycwm for many years, having lived there throughout their lives. When I was in school my parents kept the village post office. I used to deliver the mail to Wernycwm to help my father before catching the school bus. Fred and Harri were always most welcoming and their housekeeper, Mrs Reynolds used to give me a cup of tea. I could never look at our Church window without remembering the two brothers, one tall and serious and the other short and jolly. I wonder how many people remember the Watkins brothers?
Anne Beavan, Great Tre-rhew Farm
POWELL & ATWOOD ANCESTRY Llanvetherine to Aberystwyth and Many Places In-Between
Many of you will be familiar with the two large stone relief tablets that stand either side of the altar against the east wall of St James’s church. They have featured in antique inventories, and many more up-to-date books about Monmouthshire/Gwent including Hando. On one occasion about 30 years ago, the reliefs of Rev David Powell and his wife Mary featured in an episode of the HTV series Trevor Fishlock’s Wild Tracks when he noted Mary’s wedding ring was on the middle finger of her right hand. The 1549 Book of Common Prayer decreed that that the wedding ring should be placed on the fourth finger of the left hand. The tablet for Rev David Powell also has an inscribed memorial for Rev Valentine Powell their son, also Rector of this Parish from 1621. David Powell took up the incumbency in Tudor times and so would have been an early post-reformation priest.
It was therefore a very pleasant surprise in October last year when I had a fascinating email from Cheryl Hancock to tell me that searches she began with a distant Australian cousin revealed she is a ten-times granddaughter of David and Mary Powell. Cheryl and her husband Paul were planning a family history itinerary in spring 2025 to take in connected ancestors in Herefordshire Shropshire and Wales and hoped to be able to see Cheryl’s ancestors ‘in the flesh’. It was a great pleasure to meet Cheryl and Paul at St James on 3 March and to be able to take this photograph. They hope to return at some point with Cheryl’s 4th cousin Jenny to do further family history work they began before and during lockdowns, when they first came to know each other.
Full details of the research are shown below.
POWELL & ATWOOD ANCESTRY
My interest in family research began in 2001 when my mother & I visited my mother’s cousin, Averina (Rene) Percival nee Atwood. In her spare time, Rene had been researching the Atwood branch of our family & talked us through the information she had found – it was fascinating!
Fast forward to 2011, while recovering from an operation, I began using Ancestry to research our Atwood family starting with the information Rene had shared. Within weeks, I was completely hooked. 14 years later I am still hooked, being aided and abetted by my Australian 4th cousin, Jenny Harding, who contacted me via Ancestry in January 2019 when our trees linked over a common ancestor.
In October 2024, I came across an article on the ‘Llantilio Group Information Page’ about St. James the Elder Church, Llanvetherine and was very excited to read about the two stone reliefs of my 10x great grandparents, the Rev. David Powell and his wife Mary. Jenny did more research and found an article on St James the Elder in the South Wales Argus, complete with a pencil sketch of the Rev David Powell relief. I contacted Rev. Dawson (whose name was on the LLantilio Group page) to ask for confirmation of the dates for David Powell’s incumbency and to query if there were any photos of the two stone reliefs. Rev. Dawson generously offered to take and send me photos of both stone reliefs and offered us the opportunity to visit the church to stand in the space once occupied by my and Jenny’s ancestors (I will be taking him up on this offer on Monday, 3rd of March). Below is the family history that traces my Atwood line from Llanbadarn Fawr near Aberystwyth to Llanvetherine and many places in between.
The Powell part of my and Jenny’s ancestry takes us back to the 1500s when David Powell was born to Howell ap James, rector of Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. David was the first of his line to take the name Powell. It was more in keeping with the time than to take the name David ap Howell ap James ap Philip ap David ap Levan Lacy. David was educated at All Souls, Oxford where he graduated with an M.A. David became rector at Merthyr Tydfil (succeeding William Evans – Journal of Welsh Religious History, Diocese of Llandaff 1563 Page 37) before he became the rector at St James the Elder church in Llanvetherine in 1578.
Sketch of the Rev David Powell from the South Wales Argus – To White Castle and Llanvetherine – Fred Hando 1953.
Rev. David Powell married Mary & they had at least two children: a son named Valentine & a daughter named Margaret. Valentine graduated with an M.A. from Oxford, and in 1621, he is recorded as the rector on the Advowson of Llandetty Church, Breconshire. Rev. David Powell’s incumbency at Llanvetherine lasted for 45 years, with Valentine succeeding his father, becoming the rector of Llanvetherine in 1621. Valentine is mentioned in the inscription on his father’s tomb.
Inside the church of St James, the Elder, on the east wall of the chancel, are two full-length stone reliefs of the Rev David Powell and his wife Mary. An article by Fred Hando (discovered by Jenny) in the South Wales Argus gives the following description:
‘His head rests on a cushion; he holds a Bible. His cloak, edged with a decoration of oak leaves and acorns, is thrown open to display a tunic with a knotted belt and knee-breeches with no “bombast’.
Fine as these clothes were, they lapsed into insignificance beneath the splendour of the vicar’s facial embellishments. A moustache of noble proportions, hoisted well above his upper lip, sweeps thence to the ears. Pendent from the lower lip is a special beard, well ordered, covering with fair precision the shapely chin. The beard proper, believe it or not, is disposed in five plaits, each of which reaches to and emphasises the line of the collar. Surely such a cleric, high-perched in his three-decker pulpit, began his ministrations with such notable personal advantages that none of our clean-shaved parsons could hope to equal. The Rev David Powell, could he be brought to us in all his glamour, would fill St Paul’s with enthusiastic congregations, and incidentally would substitute for the sad uniformity of the masculine visage some of the charming variety of a more spacious and leisured age’.
‘The vicar’s wife, whose effigy stands to the left of the pulpit, is a figure of womanly grace and sweet piety. Between the candles rises from her shapely head the high-crowned hat which should make Llanvetherine a port of call for every student of Welsh costume. The ring on the second finger of her right hand reminds us that until 1549 the wedding ring was worn on the fourth finger of the right hand. The sculptor has solved the difficult problem of the front view of the lady’s feet by giving a side view. His rendering of the vicar’s feet is more successful.’
David Powell’s son, Valentine, married Jane. They had five children: three daughters, Susan, Anne and Jane, and two sons, David and John. Rev. Valentine Powell died on April 26th, 1649. His eldest son, David, was named as sole executor in his will dated 21st April 1649.
Our research shows our line of descent carries on through Valentine’s second son, John Powell of Woolhope in Herefordshire. John married Bridget, and in 1665, she bore him a son named George, who later became the vicar of Croft in Herefordshire. The Oxford Alumni records show George Powell, son of John of
Woolhope, Co., Hereford, matriculating at Magdalen Hall Oxford on March 13th 1683, aged 18. George graduated with a B.A. in 1687 and an M.A. in 1690 before becoming the rector at Croft on July 14th 1691 – a post he held until he died in 1736.
Rev. George Powell married a lady named Mary (there are quite a few Marys in our family ancestry) & on August 5th 1709, she bore him a daughter named Mary Elizabeth Powell (1709-1779).
Mary Powell married her father’s curate, Rev John Atwood of Chaddesley Corbett, Worcester, on May 2nd 1734, with Mary’s father settling the old Powell land of Pant Glas as part of her Dowry.
Rev John Atwood (1709 -1769) and Mary Powell had nine children, four boys and five girls: John, Thomas Bridgen, Charles, Edward, Mary, Catherine, Anna, Sarah and Theodosia. Our Atwood line continues through the Rev. John Atwood Jnr (1735-1798) of Wheathill & Burwarton, Shropshire. He married Mary Farmer (1738-1808) of Neen Savage, Shropshire, on August 19th 1769. They had five children, three boys and two girls: Edward, Maria, Catherine, William & their youngest, John Atwood (1778-1856).
John Atwood was a solicitor & merchant in Bristol before moving to Wales, where he married Margaret Thomas. Margaret was the eldest daughter of the Rev. Alban Thomas, curate of Weld and rector of Bentworth (later known as Rev. Alban Thomas Jones Gwynne, founder of the town of Aberaeron) and Martha Acton of Bentworth, Hampshire. John & Margaret had six children, three boys & three girls: John Jones, Martha Maria, Catherine Irene, Alban Thomas, Edward William and Susanna Maria. Alban Thomas and Edward William both join the clergy. Alban was the vicar of Leake with Nether, Stilton Yorks, and Edward was the curate at Shoreditch. Martha Maria was a well-respected botanist and bryologist.
Our family line continues through John Jones Atwood (1809-1880), a solicitor in Aberystwyth. John Jones married Anne Bevan on 24th March 1828 in Waterford, Herefordshire. They had twelve children, eleven boys & one girl: John, William Alban, Thomas, Henry, Alban (1836-1899, Jenny’s 3rd great grandfather), Maria, Edward Albert, Edmund Albert, Alfred, Harold George (1845-1883, my 2nd great grandfather), Edgar and Hubert. Jenny’s 3x great-grandfather, Alban Atwood, emigrated to Australia in 1855; his brother, Harold George Atwood, my 2x great-grandfather, lived, worked and died in Aberystwyth.
