St Cynog Church - dates from medieval times - The churchyard is well maintained and is currently used for burial. There are a group of three special headstones of military graves, as shown in the photo gallery of this listing. The Church is located at Defynnog, near Brecon, Powys, Wales, Great Britain. LD3 8SL
"St Cynog's church is sited in a sloping churchyard of irregular rectilinear form. The slope is more marked to the south of the church than to the north, a result of the location on ground that is beginning to drop towards a tributary of the River Senni. The river itself lies little more than 100m to the west and the western edge of the churchyard is perched on the lip of its river terrace.
If Defynnog church did originally occupy a curvilinear enclosure there are no convincing signs of it today. A small extension to the extreme south of the yard is documented in the last century, and it is just conceivable that the scarp bank to the south of the church functioned as a boundary at some point in the past.
South-west of the church the boundary is defined by a mortared stone wall with an immediate external drop of around 0.8m more than the internal drop, separated by a narrow ledge before the fall into the river valley. Between the church and the vicarage to the west a low internal bank and a hedge replace the wall, but on the north side the wall commences again, the difference in height becoming less marked as one moves eastwards. On the east the perimeter is edged by houses and again the interior is raised to the extent that some of the cottage windows are on a level with the churchyard. The wall continues on the south-east and there is no real external drop.
Monuments: these are well spread throughout the churchyard and are locally dense, particularly on the north side. Late 18thC and many 19thC graves are prevalent to the north of the north chapel and also to the south of the chancel.
Earthworks: a scarp bank in excess of one metre high and quite pronounced curves round from beneath the tower to opposite the chancel.
Ancillary features: an ornate lychgate with transoms and tracery across the arches dates to 1903, and offers the main access from the south. The north-west corner has a single painted metal gate, the north-east corner has double cast iron gates and there is a further gate on the east side. All are served by tarmac paths.
Vegetation: four large yews including one on the scarp bank noted above lie in an arc around the church." Text source:
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"An early medieval origin for the church seems reasonably plausible on the basis of its dedication and its siting. Pre-Conquest features may include the font, stoup, the incised stone and the architecture of the north wall of the nave though it must be stated that for a variety of reasons none of these can categorically be used as confirmatory evidence for an early church.
Nevertheless it is generally understood that this was a mother church for the region, and its importance is demonstrated by the fact that the 'Ecclesia de Devennoc' was valued at the high level of œ8 18s 9d in the Taxatio of 1254, and œ17 6s 8d in that of 1291."
Text SOurce: An early medieval origin for the church seems reasonably plausible on the basis of its dedication and its siting. Pre-Conquest features may include the font, stoup, the incised stone and the architecture of the north wall of the nave though it must be stated that for a variety of reasons none of these can categorically be used as confirmatory evidence for an early church.
Nevertheless it is generally understood that this was a mother church for the region, and its importance is demonstrated by the fact that the 'Ecclesia de Devennoc' was valued at the high level of œ8 18s 9d in the Taxatio of 1254, and œ17 6s 8d in that of 1291." Text source:
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