The medieval church of St Beuno and St Peter at Llanveynoe can be discovered in a remote hamlet along a narrow country lane above the Olchon valley
The little church houses two ancient stones with incised crosses and an inscription, while in the churchyard a curious thin cross can be seen. Cemented into the south wall of the church are two stones. One of these shows Christ crucified. He wears a tunic and his arms are out-stretched with his feet in a standing position, head leaning slightly to one side. Tiny holes or pock marks can be seen in the stone, suggesting that it could be part of a pre-Christian, pagan altar. Next to it, another stone shows signs of damage. This has only half an incised cross, an inscription, and alpha and omega symbols. They are from the 7th-10th centuries. The inscription is difficult to read because it is damaged and, also quite tiny Latin lettering. It reads:- HAES: DUR FECIT CRUCEM STAM and when translated is something like ‘Haestar made this cross’. At the top of the stone XPC the Greek Chi Rho and the letters IHC the Greek word for ‘Christ Jesus’. A fourth stone with a carved cross was found in the wall of a barn half a mile further along the Olchon Valley now built into the church’s north wall, while a fifth stone is now in the south wall. Outside in the churchyard stands a 5 foot high thin, short-armed Celtic-style cross with a channel running down it’s shaft. It seems to have been used in recent times for a water channel, found in the 1870s and brought to the churchyard for safety and probably 10th century. St Beuno came to Llanveynoe in 600 AD and founded a small monastery on what was a pagan site. St Beuno died at Clynnog Fawr in 640 or 642 AD.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Llanveynoe, Longtown, Herefordshire
Photo credit: © Philip Chapman / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: ancient, beuno, black, brecon, celtic, christ, church, cross, crosses, crucified, hamlet, hay, llanfeuno, llanveynoe, mountains, olchon, peter, remote, st, stones, valley, wye
