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The feature below was first shown on my website on 5 June 2003

John Ball

Images of Wales

St Illtyd's Church, Ilston

Page 2

Page 1: Church exterior & churchyard       Page 2: Church interior (below)       Page 3: Gravestone inscriptions


The interior of St Illtyd's Church

Church nave
Photography by John Ball
Above: The nave looking towards the chancel and east window. On the immediate right is the entrance door from the south porch. To the right of the archway leading to the chancel is the entrance to a small chapel in the base of the bell-tower.

Nave ceiling
Photography by Venita Roylance
Above: Roof timbers in the ceiling of the nave.

Chancel
Photography by John Ball
 

Left: The chancel, altar, and east window of the church.

After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, Oliver Cromwell's parochial minister for Ilston was John Myles. When the Commonwealth Period ended with the Restoration in 1660, Myles was replaced. Not a man to be easily defeated, John Myles moved further down Ilston Cwm and established the first Baptist chapel in Wales on the site of the abandoned Trinity Well oratory. In 1928, David Lloyd George unveiled a memorial to Myles which can still be seen at the site. With the Restoration of Charles II to the throne, and the implementation of the Conventicle Act in 1664, Baptist services were declared "dissenting assemblies". Myles had no option but to gather up his flock and head for the safety of America. They settled in Massachusetts, at a town they called Swansea.


Altar and east window
Photography by Venita Roylance
Above: The altar and east window.

South chapel
Photography by John Ball
Above: The south chapel, created in the base of the bell-tower.

Nave and west window
Photography by John Ball
Above: The nave and west window viewed from the pulpit. Note the octagonal font (below
the west window), and porch entrance (left) opposite which stands one of the church bells.

Font
Photography by John Ball
  Bell
Photography by John Ball
Above: Heavily restored octagonal font   Above: Fifteenth century bell
 

Until 1974, the tower held three bells. Two were cast locally by David Davies of Oystermouth in 1715, while the third was cast by Jeffries medieval bell foundry at Bristol in the late 15th or early 16th century. The 18th century bells bear the names of the church wardens of the time: Thomas, William, and Richard Bowen. In 1974, the older bell had to be taken down and housed in the nave after a crack appeared in its crown. The defect is thought to have been caused by incorrect hanging or the action of the iron of the 'cast-in' staples in the bell metal. The bell bears the Latin inscription Sancte Thoma Ora Pro Nobis — St Thomas pray for us — a reference to St Thomas à Beckett, a popular saint in the devotional life of worshippers in pre-reformation days. During the Great War of 1914-18, the old bell became known locally as the Angelus, or Peace Bell of Ilston, because the Rev John Veale Roberts (1886-1929) would ring it every day at noon as a sign for his parishioners to offer up prayer to those fighting in France.


Window
Photography by John Ball
  Window
Photography by John Ball
Above: Two fine stained-glass windows in the nave.

The image of St Illtyd (left) was commissioned in memory of, George and Elizabeth Jones of Ilston. The image of Christ's ascension (right) was commissioned by, Elizabeth Jones of Ilston in memory of her parents William and Jane Davies.


West window and font
Photography by Venita Roylance
  West window
Photography by John Ball
Above: West window and font.   Above: West window

Below: Sunlight passing through the green-tinted ancient window glass illuminates coloured tiles on the ledge beneath the west window.
Tiles, west window
Photography by John Ball

Turn to Page 3 and study a selection of ancient gravestones in the churchyard of St Illtyd's

Images of Wales                          Back to Webpage Archive

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Details of each website feature for newcomers Direct links to each website feature for regulars Advance news of new developments on my website Summary of all the latest updates Gateway to Welsh Family History Archive Help for those having problems accessing my website A link to the main 'gateway' page to my entire website