Service Times
Sunday
11:00am – Holy Communion (1st Sunday)
11:00am – Morning Prayer (3rd Sunday)
St Teilo’s is open during the day for visitors – we look forward to welcoming you soon.
Accessibility
| Parking | There is a large carpark which is grassed so may sink in wet weather. |
| Churchyard paths | Even, tarmac path with handrail from carpark leading to church. |
| Door Access | Double doors can be opened for wheelchairs. Small step into porch and step into church. |
| Inside Church | All aisles wheelchair-wide |
| Accessible toilet | Accessible toilet with handrails in churchyard. |
History
The original church would have been of wood, which was replaced around the end of the twelfth or early thirteenth century with stone, with a central “early English” tower, some sixty-foot high. It originally had a parapet, as shown by the gargoyles, and probably a flat lead roof or one in the form of a low pyramid covered with stone tiles.
In 550 A.D. the Saxons were plundering in the area, and the local king, Iddon, asked Teilo, a holy man staying in Llanarth, to pray for him. Teilo raised a cross on the ancient pre-Christian mound, and the Saxons were repelled. In return, Iddon granted the mound to Teilo to build a church. This was dedicated to Teilo, who later became Bishop of Llandaff and a Saint. The present name is a corruption of “St. Teilo at Iddon’s Cross”.
The chancel was rebuilt in the fourteenth century in the “Decorated” style. The modern glass of the east window above the altar is by Howard Martin of Celtic Studios in Swansea. The window from the ringing chamber of the tower now looks into the chancel, suggesting that the roof of the chancel was raised from its original level. In the south corner of the west wall there is a blocked off narrow doorway beneath an elegant arch. On the south wall there are three further apertures. The most easterly must have been an outer door, while the other two, one above the other, open into the south transept.
Several interesting flat slabs lie on the chancel floor. One dated 1621 is to the Stuart family and another to vicar Owen Rogers (d. 1660). Then there is the Walderne memorial stone.
This large seventeenth century carved stone memorial to a married couple has been identified from Walter Powell’s copy of the registers of Llantilio Crossenny as depicting Jane and John Walderne, who died in 1620.
The church originally had an “early English” nave, much lower than the present one, and also aisles, as shown by the small thirteenth century narrow lancet windows at the western end of the present aisles. The oldest part of the present church are these windows and the massive arches supporting the central tower.
The nave is late 14th century and in the perpendicular style. It was raised on its slender pillars around the fourteenth to fifteenth century when a clerestory was added. (A clerestory is the upper part of the wall, in this case in the nave, of a large church, which contains a series of windows, above the aisle roofs). The slender arches of the nave contrast with the low, pointed thirteenth century early English tower arch, through which the chancel is accessed.
Above and to the right of this arch, in the east wall of the nave, is a blocked-off doorway leading to the ringing chamber, with descending steps now ending in mid-air. Until the 19th century there was a wooden pulpit to the left of the screen. The north aisle contains an early Norman or possibly Saxon font, discovered in the churchyard at the beginning of the nineteenth century and placed in its present position.
The most easterly window on the north wall, above the remembrance table, contains glass from Llantilio Court. The left shows the coat of arms and an inscription in memory of Sir David Gam, knighted by King Henry V. He is reputed to have been Shakespeare’s Fluellen, but the dates are inconsistent. The right side of the window is in memory of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, who was also connected with the Llantilio estate. The middle window of the south wall marks the site of the former South porch. Normal entry to the nave is now through the west porch, which contains the parish chest. This dates to 1538 and housed registers, vestments and plate. This is a large church for such a small village and it has been suggested that the Bishop used it as a sort of cathedral as he progressed between manors collecting tithes.
The North transept was extended eastwards in the fourteenth to fifteenth century and became the Lady Chapel. The original east window was removed at this time and replaced by the perpendicular fifteenth century window. The window has four lights, (filled now with stained glass made by Mr. Kemp of London and donated by Mrs. Morgan Clifford in memory of her husband and son).
On either side of the altar, below the window, are two corbel heads or brackets, used for the support of lights or statues. The one on the right, depicting a youth with circlets round his curling hair, is said to be one of the princes who was taken to the Tower of London, or possibly King Edward II, (1307-27). The chapel was used to bury the owners of the local manor house, known as Cil-LLwch, (Killough or ‘dusty retreat’), between 1697 and 1835, and in the seventeenth century was renamed the Cil-Llwch Chapel.
Early 2012 saw Phase 1 of an extensive restoration project. this involved repairing stonework, leaded glass windows, water carrying goods and renewing the roof of the porch. Total redecoration of the interior was also undertaken. The work was completed in time for the Llantilio Music Festival in May. Phase 2 of the works began in November 2012 when the 12,000 oak shingle tiles were removed & replaced together with the lightning conductor. The work was carried out during arctic conditions and completed in April 2013. Several hundred tiles were sponsored by the community & visitors making dedications or leaving memories for future historians. The churchyard now also has a fully accessible toilet block facility.
The work was completed with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, CADW, Village Alive Trust, the Welsh Church Fund, the All Churches Trust Ltd & a Church Improvement Grant from the Church in Wales.
Bellringing
The church bells bear the date 1709 and their frame rests on four large timber uprights all made from a single oak tree. The bells are sixty foot high and stand on four blocks of stone, one at each corner of the tower. The original 6 bells were cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester in 1708-9, with a tenor weighing 10 cwts and 23lbs, (520 kgs). The present tenor weighs 4 cwts 2qts and 4 lbs, (230 kgs) and is tuned in the key of D. For 30 years the bells of Llantilio Crossenny church were silent until 2012 when a team of ringers was re-established.