“Heaven for thee, Mary, will be open every hour.”
I have little doubt that this beam, as well as the other decorations of
the roof of the Church, was brought from Llan Egwest, which it will be
recollected was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
There is a beautiful half-length of our Saviour in the window over the
altar, painted upon glass by Eginton, of Birmingham, with this
inscription under it:—
“Nid fy ewyllys i, ond yr eiddo ti a wneler.”
S. Lau pen. 22, ad. 42.
“Not my will, but thine be done.”
I believe there are no other Welch inscriptions in the Church, among the
many grave stones, tablets, &c. which abound; and yet service is
performed in no other language, except on the second sabbath in every
month, and on Good Friday. There are many English families now resident
in Llangollen and its neighbourhood; and to those that are seriously
disposed this is a great privation.
The Church is well served by the very worthy and pious Vicar, who resides
at the Vicarage; yet, notwithstanding, there are four dissenting
congregations in the town, viz.—Wesleyan Methodists, Whitfield or
Calvinistic Methodists, Independents, and Baptists.
In the church-yard is a school, under which is a vestry-room, bearing
this inscription:—“This school-house was built at the expense of the
parishioners, having obtained the ordinary license, with consent of the
Rev. R. Price, vicar, 1773.”
The customs of the orthodox Welch Church are similar to those in England,
except in the following, viz.—that of bedecking the graves of the dead
with shrubs and flowers; of singing before the corpse to the church; and
the very annoying one of ringing a passing bell in the following
manner:—On the day prior to the funeral the bells are tolled in a very
quick succession of strokes; that is to say, twelve quick strokes on the
first bell, and after a short pause, twelve on the second; and so on once
round, the number of strokes on each bell, denoting the condition of the
deceased. Thus, twelve strokes on each bell denotes the death of a
married master of a family; eleven strokes the mother or mistress of a
family; ten strokes an unmarried or young man; nine a young woman
unmarried; six a boy; and five a girl. Then begins an incessant
monotonous toll of the great bell, in minute time, which generally
continues all that day until eight o’clock at night: it commences again
at eight o’clock on the following morning, and does not cease until eight
o’clock at night, except during the time of interment. The usage at the
burial is also novel to an English observer. When the service in the
church is concluded, the officiating minister goes to the steps of the
altar, whereon a sort of wooden plate is previously placed; and the
attendants and friends of the deceased immediately proceed to deposit
money thereon in his presence, which is instead of dues. When the corpse
is consigned to the earth, the clerk receives the donations of the people
that are around the grave, upon the spade with which he is throwing the
earth upon the coffin; and this is his share of the fees.
There is also an old and curious custom observed at Christmas, called
Plygan, or Plygain, that is, “the time of night when the cock croweth;
the morning twilight.”—On the morning of Christmas Day, the bells are
rung as is usual to assemble to church, about four o’clock; and on their
ringing about six o’clock, most of the parishioners assemble, some
bringing candles, and the church is also lighted up. After the prayers
(morning service for the day) are read, the congregation continue, and
the minister also, hearing original carols in the Welch language, on our
Saviour’s nativity. This time and custom were formerly much more
seriously observed, when men believed
“That ever ’gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then they say no spirit walks abroad;
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike;
No fairy takes, no witch hath power to charm;
So hallowed and so gracious is the time.”
Except two or three marble monuments in the Church, there are no other
remarkable objects; but in the church-yard are many very neat and
handsome freestone tombs. Some of those recently erected are in the
sarcophagus form, and are very nicely executed.
Nearly opposite the south door of the Church stands a triangular gothic
column of freestone, surrounded by a light iron railing, erected over the
grave of a highly respected domestic of the Right Hon. Lady E. Butler,
and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby. The pillar is executed in good taste, and on
one of the three facades are the following lines, doing much honour to
the heart as well as to the head of the composer:—
In Memory of
Mrs. MARY CAROL,
Deceased the 22nd of November, 1809,
This Monument is erected,
By Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby,
Of Plas Newydd, in this Parish.
Released from earth, and all its transient woes,
She whose remains beneath this stone repose,
Steadfast in faith, resign’d her parting breath,
Look’d up with Christian zeal, and smiled in death;
Patient, industrious, faithful, gen’rous, kind,
Her conduct left the proudest far behind;
Her virtues dignified her humble birth,
And raised her mind beyond this sordid earth.
Attachment, sacred bond of grateful breasts,
Extinguish’d but with life this tomb attests,
Rear’d by two friends, who will her loss bemoan,
Till with her ashes here shall rest their own.
The poor of Llangollen have much reason to pray that period may be far
distant; for the benevolence of these retired ladies is extensive and
discriminate; and it may justly be said there is not a poor deserving
object in this little town, who does not participate in their bounty. I
shall conclude with a brief notice of their residence.