St Dubricius's Church, Gwenddwr, Breconshire

Note 1. A small rather unimpressive church dedicated to St Dubricius, and largely rebuilt in 1886, with few furnishings and fittings of pre-19thC date. Its small rectilinear churchyard may be the shrunken remnant of a much larger oval enclosure related to the 6thC monastic foundation reputed to have been established here.
Some of the earlier, medieval church survives, notably in lower stages of tower, porch, and probably western part of nave. Rest rebuilt using mixture of old and new masonry, though this is at variance with 1878 faculty specification which implies south wall and part of east are original. Most windows have been replaced with Victorian imitations, but two in chancel retain original dressings. Both doors on south side retain original features, but priest's door may have been reset. Overall, surviving architectural features suggest that the church goes back to the 14thC, and that some alterations perhaps only to the chancel and porch were made in the 15thC. [Source: Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) website (accessed 11 April 2017)].

Note 2. The church is reached by a narrow sloping path between the gabled former school of 1864 and the former Unicorn Inn. Nave and chancel in one, extensively restored in 1878-80 by William Williams of Brecon. Low west tower with pyramidal roof and roughly battered base; much rebuilt, probably in the c17. The south porch [shown below left] is rebuilt but preserves its c15 roof. [Source: The Buildings of Wales: Powys, by Robert Scourfield and Richard Haslam, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2013].