Anglesey 3 - Penmon/ a medieval dovecote/a medieval /priory a church with medieval crossed stones

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If you are going to go anywhere you might as well try to build in a few things to the trip to make it worthwhile . We drove back down the narrow toll road arriving back at the parking near to the toll booth. The rather large young lad was out again. In between catching motorists and charging them to drive the toll road he was talking to what must have been locals . I did not envy his job sitting on a cold day in a shed . It could be miserable, wet and lonely . He would need to see three cars an hour to make up his hourly wage . I doubted he would see many through the day in the middle of winter .

We parked up and headed for the medieval dovecote . I cannot say for certain but don't think we have seen anything similar in the UK. It was open and free as it was cared for by Cadw . There was no charge for anyone . The doors were open and really not a lot to see . It was extremely dark inside .

The dovecote was built around 1600 and lies close to Penmon church and the Priory house. It is square in shape and built of the local stone . The profile is described as French Renaissance. There is cupola in the roof letting in some light .We entered into the darkness but our eyes soon acclimatised to the gloom. Inside we could see row upon row from floor to roof of nesting spaces . There must have been hundreds of them which once would have been packed out with pigeons . The floor must have been covered in bird droppings which presumably were used as fertiliser . The smell must have been horrendous . In the middle of the circular room was a round pillar which reached up into the roof above . Stopping just short of the roof it appeared to have stones sticking out all the way round . A strange form of spiral steps making it easy for the owners to climb up and collect the birds eggs and cull the pigeons . We assume that the locals must have dined well on eggs and pigeon pies .

Across the road was St Seiriols well . It was extremely muddy and the stream which flowed through the well and shrine was too deep to negotiate . Dipping ourselves in the holy water was an impossibility at this time of the year . Although it was clear to see that at some point others had entered the small building and left notes . This tranquil spot has remained from the time of monastery and dates back to St Seiriol who lived around the 6th century. It is said that the well probably originated at this time and may have been visited many times by pilgrims since that date . In the 13th century the Augustinians turned up and probably saw an opportunity to market the shrine as a cure all for illnesses . An opportunity to maximise offerings to the church from the faithful. The building that now stands was built close to the monastic fishpond . It dates from much later around 1710 and protects the spring that wells through it. A brick building of primitive nature . Just a shelter and little else .

Nearby is the priory . A complete roofless building open to the elements . Again the priory was founded by St Seiriol in the 6th century . The monastery on the site prospered into the 10th century. The crosses we were to see in the small church next door was once erected outside the gates of the monastery . Not much remains apart from some high walls which give an impression of the power and wealth of the Augustinian monks . Vikings had raided the area so little remains of the early structure . But what is left is pretty impressive given its age . There was some revival of its fortunes during the 12th century but decline did set in. No doubt the neighbours removed the tiles from the roof and reused the wood from the interior of the building . The decline completed by the 1580's when the monastery along with all others were dissolved. A line from my daily calendar came to mind - D T Suzuki said something along the lines of Emptiness. Apparently it can be mistaken for nothingness but is in fact a reservoir of infinite possiblities . Standing in the dovecot and in the roofless and empty priory that sort of rang true . With a touch of imagination it was possible to see the doves , hear the doves and smell the doves. The emptiness of the priory could be filled with furniture . The fires lit . The sounds of the monks at prayer and singing . Empiness is a good thing sometimes as it does make you improvise , imagine and just think.

The small abbey church next door still stands and is still used to this day for services . The graveyard still in use .

We left the priory and headed through what felt like someones garden to go into the small church . The gardens were the part of the manor next door which had converted from the priors lodgings to a house after the dissolution . The church was a pretty stone building . Not large by any degree. Small without spire nor tower. Inside it was painted white and was lacking in any tombs or memorials . It was probably fair to say that most people came not to see the church but the stones that were safely kept inside and the best Romanesque carving in North West Wales . The chancel was unadorned with much Victorian alterations . There was though remnants of a richly carved arch. This side of the church was in darkness . A small switch on the wall turned on the lights which illuminated this darkened end of the church. There was 10th or 11 th century font which looked to be not in use . And then the set of crosses .

The first much eroded had been moved from the nearby deer park into the church . It was carved on all four sides with St Anthony being tempted by demons and the Flight into Egypt . Interlaced sections and knots covered much of the cross . The second was much eroded too but of the Celtic style of cross .

There were other treasures in the church .Norman carvings and Limoges enamels found when renovation took place . We were on our own and had time to just wander around the crosses taking in the detail but also feeling saddened to see how eroded they had become . It was a miracle that anything was discernable on them after years of our inclement weather coming in from the Irish Sea .

There was the usual stained glass with fragments of much earlier glass in some panes however most glass was Victorian or Edwardian . Even a few modern stained glass had appeared in some of the windows .

Penmon was a brilliant day out with three completely different things to grab our attention . If you look hard enough there is always something to see . Today we saw a lighthouse, a dovecote and a set of Celtic crosses . A result .





All in all

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