Saints and Stained Glass across the Sea
Tour Description
A collection of stories by Dr Martin Crampin of the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. They explore the connections across the Irish Sea rooted in medieval and modern traditions of the saints, and the religious art found in coastal churches in and around the Irish Sea Ports.
Locations for Tour
St Cybi in Holyhead – and in Ireland | Cybi Sant yng Nghaergybi – ac yn Iwerddon
Most Welsh place-names that incorporate the names of saints occur in the form of llan with the name of the saint, and places named Llangybi (the enclosure, church or parish of Cybi) can be found elsewhere in Wales on the Llŷn Peninsula, in Ceredigion…
The Chapel of St Ffraid at Trearddur Bay, Holy Island | Capel y Santes Ffraid ym Mae Trearddur, Ynys Gybi
The shrine of St Cybi at the church in Holyhead was probably the most important saint’s cult on Holy Island in the Middle Ages, but other saints were also venerated on Holy Island, the largest island off the coast of Anglesey.
The church at…
St Bride's Bay, Pembrokeshire | Bae Sain Ffrêd, Sir Benfro
Medieval churches that appear to have been dedicated to the Irish saint Brigid, Bride or Ffraid can be found across most parts of Wales. The large west facing haven known as St Bride’s Bay in Pembrokeshire seems to have been known by versions of the…
St Aidan in Ireland and Wales | Sant Aidan yng Nghymru ac Iwerddon
One of the disciples of St David in the Latin Life of St David is named sanctus Aidanus. According to text, written late in the eleventh century by Rhygyfarch ap Sulien at his scriptorium in Llanbadarn Fawr, Aidan left David’s monastery and travelled…
Paterchurch Tower and St Patrick | Tŵr Paterchurch a Sant Padrig
The oldest building in Pembroke Dock is the tower that stands behind the dockyard wall on Fort Road. Although the Anglican church in Pembroke Dock, dedicated to St John the Evangelist, appears to have a tall tower that is similar to other distinctive…
Sailing with the Saints | Hwylio gyda'r Seintiau
A mosaic of St Andrew that survives in St Patrick’s Church in Rosslare remembers the ‘saints’ that sailed between Wales and Ireland for the first sixty years of the crossing. Four vessels were initially commissioned by the Great Western Railway: the…
Major Thomas Swift of Holyhead | Thomas Swift o Gaergybi
Towards the end of the Civil War, Major Thomas Swift took control of the fort of Holyhead in 1649, and in the following year he was made Postmaster. This gave him responsibility for the ships carrying the mail to Ireland, which was a troublesome…
Ellin’s Tower | Twr Elin
The two-storey folly was erected in 1868 for Ellin or Ellen Stanley. Ellen came from the Williams family of Bodelwyddan near St Asaph in north Wales and married William Owen Stanley of Penrhos in 1832. They lived at Penrhos mansion near Holyhead,…
Stained Glass at St Seiriol’s | Gwydr Lliw yn Eglwys Seiriol Sant
The images of two saints can be found in Venetian glass mosaics at the entrance to the Celtic Gateway Bridge in Holyhead. One is of St Cybi, whose church can be found in the grounds of the Roman fort, and a Victorian church in Holyhead was built in…
Stained Glass at the Mariners’ Church | Gwydr Lliw yn Eglwys y Morwyr
The fascinating collections of the National Maritime Museum of Ireland are found in the slightly incongruous surroundings of a former Church of Ireland building. The church was originally begun in 1836 and consecrated in 1843, and successive…
St Patrick in Ringsend | Sant Padrig yn Ringsend
The close association of St Patrick with Ireland extends back to Patrick’s own writings, probably dating to the fifth century. In these letters he states that he came from a Christian family in Britain. The location of his upbringing in Britain has…
Dublin Stained Glass in Fishguard | Gwydr Lliw Dulyn yn Abergwaun
The Catholic mission in Fishguard was established in the late nineteenth century to minister to Irish workers and families involved in the construction of the port, mirroring a similar mission to Catholic families in Holyhead in the mid-nineteenth…
The People’s Window, Fishguard | Ffenestr y Bobl, Abergwaun
The tradition of commissioning stained glass at St Mary’s Church in Fishguard began relatively late in the 1920s. The church was designed in the 1850s with an outward appearance and interior that had more in common with Nonconformist chapels than…
Angle Fishermen’s Chapel | Capel Pysgotwyr Angle
The little chapel situated in the grounds of the Church of St Mary in Angle is known as the Fishermen’s or Sailors’ Chapel, only a short walk from the beach at the west end of Angle Bay. The bay consists of mudflats and provides an important feeding…