St Mary's Church

The Church of St Mary at Kanovium

I decided to include a page on the 13th century church of St Mary, which though outside the area of study in this website, it is never the less interesting in its own right, it is a characteristic feature of Kanovium Roman fort, and also because it is built mostly of Roman stone blocks or ‘ashlars’ which had been imported into the area from Cheshire. On this image the ancient church can be seen to have been constructed in the north east corner of the Roman fort, the boundary wall sits directly on top of the fort wall, looking under the yew trees, shadowed, it is easy to imagine how the corner looked originally, but it is all an illusion, the wall is relatively modern. Possibly the most interesting feature of the church is the three Medieval carvings located at various points in the building structure, on days of certain light it is possible to make out a couple of Roman inscribed stones, but the red sandstone is so friable it is difficult to really be certain, the carvings are to be found above the church door and the South Chapel.

Images Property of Kanovium Project and Ken Evans

These two images clearly reveal the actual amount of the distinctive sandstone used in the construction of the bell tower, elsewhere in the church more shale is used, but the bell tower seems to mostly comprise of the Cheshire stone. The image left shows the tower, at the bottom of which there is one of the Medieval carvings, this features a crucifixion image, supported by a cornice of Roman stones and protected by a small lead roof it is a charming piece of Medieval art and is to believed to be contemporary with the earliest phase of the church which was either late 13th or early 14th century. Notice the stones beneath the carving, they are not as well cut and therefore the tower must represent two separate phases of Medieval stone robbing of the fort, the lower being the earlier, while the blocks in the tower seem to represent a major plundering of the fort gates, which at this time must have still been standing to a respectable height. The second image shows a close up of the carving, notice the tool marks one many of the stones, zig zag feather marks very characteristically Roman. The cornice stones are possibly Roman too, I have seen similar at Birdoswald farm house built inside the Roman fort, they are probably remains of a ‘string course’ which delineated the rampart wall walk from the fort wall and similar string courses can be seen in many churches old and modern, usually around towers used in a similar manner to these Roman stones. This string course would have ran the entire circuit of the rampart at the rampart wall level, Baillie-Reynolds located several in the excavation, of sandstone, found at the various fort gates.

This is the south wall of the South Chapel and features another late Medieval carving, I have only really recently noticed this one and on this particular day the sunlight caught it perfectly. I think the average visitor to the church may even think it is a Roman stone as it features some well cut writing, a possible wreath, but most noticeable is a horned head, at first you may think this head could be the Capricorn badge of legio II Augusta, but a little bit out of their patch, sadly it is not and neither is it Roman. It is in fact the head of a cow, now you may wonder what a cow’s head is doing in such a prominent position? in fact it is surely pagan? along with the ‘Jack in the green’ in the inside of the South Chapel, we do have a strange mismatch of the old religion, interspersed in this Christian locality, such is common, the psyche behind this occurrence is out of the topic of The Kanovium Project, but I do have an explanation for the cow image. Not far from Caerhun, near Colwyn Bay is a village called Llysfaen, the parish church of St Cynfran (possible 8th century foundation) and above the door is a carved stone depicting the Saint’s head, a strange stone, the Saint’s tongue is lolling out over his chin and cheek very much in the manner of a bovine. It seems that Cynfran was benevolent to horned animals, as was the much more frequently encountered Saint, Bridget, Cynfran had a holy well north of Llysfaen (more pagan themes, holy springs, very Celtic, pre Roman) and villagers would pray for their cattle here, that explained it remained to be seen why Medieval villagers and farmers held on to this pre Roman custom. More evidence of stone robbing here by our christian/pagan ecclesiastical types, rough sandstone can be seen above the window which must be Roman, while the window and frame, while clearly still the same type of stone, it is different in origin, and is similar to the type of stone used in many churches and castles around the North Wales area, therefore they must have actually obtained it from elsewhere and not plundered the remains of Kanovium. This image shows the stone in more detail, in some respects it does look Roman, the wreathes beneath it’s protective lead roof don’t look particularly Christian so possibly it is a re-used stone. I should also like to feature the corbel stone, but the church is now always locked, which is a shame as a visit to the Roman site was always complimented by a visit to the interesting church, especially from my point of view to scour the inner walls in search of Roman epigraphy, a sign of of times when even holy buildings are not safe from the vandal. However, this summer the church has been open to the public, please note, August 2003, but I believe this will end at the start of winter.

Medieval Carving on South Wall of South Chapel

Medieval Carved Stone Corbel Inside the South Chapel

This corbel, which is supporting a roof beam on the east wall of the south Chapel, is of unknown origin, and is thought to date to the 15th Century. The South Chapel was built in 1591, so if the corbel, which is rather older, was added at this, or a subsequent date is not clear. I had previously viewed the corbel, but the light is subdued, therefore the flash of the camera has given the image a clarity not evident if viewing inside the church.

Written material on this corbel is scarce, all I have ever seen previously was the R.C.A.H.M.W volume listing the Ancient Monuments of Caernarvonshire, here St Mary’s Church is given a short description, and this includes a mention of the corbel. Sadly I have not been able to re-access this volume, but I seem to recall that it mentions that locally there was a collector of Ecclesiastical Antiquities, possibly in Georgian times, or indeed much earlier, he was either resident of Caerhun Hall, or either a vicar at the church, but it is conjectured that it was he, obtaining the carved stone elsewhere added it to the South Chapel. This collector would appear to be the architect of the South Chapel, a Edward Williams, the High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire in 1570, who along with his wife Grace, built the Chapel. The building of the Chapel by Williams is recorded on a board close to the corbel, which according to the leaflet available inside the Church, is written in ‘dubius Latin’.

Of what is the corbel depicting?, well before seeing the flash photograph I had always considered it to be of a man’s head wearing a characteristic Medieval hat, and that he probably represented a ‘Jack in the Green’. Also known as the ‘Green Man’ he is seen all over England in both churches and Pub signs, he recalls an older religion than Christianity, the pagan ‘horned one of the woods’ he illustrates either the continuing pagan beliefs of 16th Century Britain, or either the tenuous influence of Christianity at this time. The photograph revealed that he didn’t wear a medieval hat, but that, he wore either a snake or a fish upon his head, around his neck is a thick moulded ring, this is either the collar to a robe, or a torque, which is a very pagan symbol, around his neck.

As we are unsure if the corbel originates at the site, we cannot engage is much discussion to what he represents, but the fish upon his head can surely only allude to the River Conwy with the nearby fish traps? We have already seen above that in Medieval days the local churches did include images of cattle gods, so possibly the corbel may represent the god of the River Conwy? Surely two of the Conwy Valley’s main industries during Medieval times are represented here? - fishing and agriculture, intertwined with the success of the lives of the Medieval valley dwellers, they would obviously have found a place of importance in their religious beliefs, hence the inclusion to the walls of Caerhun Church.

I have failed to discover any further information regarding this corbel, some experts consulted could throw no light, but he certainly makes an interesting talking point, I was interested to view him, during the late summer of 2002, and it was good to see that the church has been open to the public this summer, May 2003.

Looking west, this image shows the church interior. The church was constructed during the 13th century, or possibly early 14th, surviving features of this are the Nave walls, 100 years later the church was extended eastwards, which is still the present length. The east window while not in its original position, may date from the first structure. The South Chapel was built in 1591, and contains the ‘jack in the green’. The font is believed to date from the time of the earliest phase of the church, while the Lychgate with mounting block was built in 1728. The graveyard contains many interesting 18th century vaulted tombs, which sadly must have destroyed the archaeology in this area, which contained barrack blocks and a corner tower. Baillie Reynolds mentioned finds of Roman pottery when graves had been dug, and it is not uncommon for grass cutting to reveal the occasional piece today. There is some conjecture to why such churches occupy long disused Roman forts, possibly owned by rich Medieval landlowners, who where high status, and donated the land to the church. It does not represent continual use of the fort area, it may have seen sporadic use during the post Roman period. Birdoswald on Hadrians Wall gives evidence to the Saxon period, which then dries up until the 13th century, this is similar to here, while Brampton old church near to Birdoswald has an auxiliary fort of similar size to this one, though the Roman use of the site ended at Hadrian, 130 A.D, it has a church of 13th century date. The site probably stood derelict for long periods of time until the feudal lords realized the value of the Roman stone and claimed ownership

We would like to thank the Vicar and all concerned at St Mary’s Church Caerhun for kindly allowing us to display an advert for the KANOVIUM PROJECT inside the church