Pretty without being chocolate-boxy, Penmark is a small village just outside Barry with a good…read morelocal pub and an interesting mediaeval church. Its peace is only disturbed by the aircraft taking off from nearby Cardiff-Wales airport, but it's a million miles away in character. History The village was the site of a 12th century Norman castle, overlooking a natural ravine carved by the Waycock River. Originally built in wood by Gilbert de Umfraville, it was rebuilt in stone in the 13th century. A good review of the castle (now in ruins) can be found at http://www.castlewales.com . The church was probably built around the same time, and its generous proportions may reflect the patronage of the local lord. The oldest part is the chancel arch, dating from around 1200. The tower arch dates from 1400 and most of the Perpendicular Gothic windows date from the 15th century. Charles Wesley preached here on 26th July 1777, after breakfasting in nearby Fonmon Castle. In 1811 the church is recorded as still being dedicated to St Mark, and repairs were undertaken and new seating was installed in 1893-5. In the churchyard is a preaching cross, restored in 1888, on the original mediaeval base. The church The church has a south porch, nave, chancel and tower. The most notable interior feature is the peculiar chancel arch, a simple and crude pointed arch with similarly crude zig-zag carving, dated to around 1200. More impressive is a tall and beautifully proportioned Perpendicular tower arch dating from around 1400. The nave has a well preserved staircase for a long-vanished Rood Screen. Most of the windows are perpendicular in style, dating from the later 15th century, some restored. The church has some interesting fittings and furnishings: pride of place goes to the Jacobean pulpit, from which Charles Wesley preached in 1777. The nave side altar opposite dates from 1709, and above are memorials to Jones family of Fonmon Castle. In the chancel are late 17th century alabaster memorials to the Lewis Family of Penmark Place, with coats of arms and skulls. The nave has a plain turned Norman tub font, presumably dating from the founding of the church. The church is an integral part of village life details of special services can be found in the newsletter at http://www.penmark.org . Regular services are part of the joint benefice of Benefice of Penmark with Llancarfan with Llantrithyd telephone for service times and location.

This is a spectacular sight with the tall spire which you can see from the train as you arrive and…read morefrom around the town. It is beautiful inside and I spent some zen time inside by myself. Only downside is that there were some druggies hanging around the church, so watch out for that.

St John's tall steeple and spire is one of the landmarks…read morevisible from the train as you go through Bath: at 222ft high, it is the tallest in the city. This large church is a confident statement of faith, and an equally emphatic lesson in the Gothic Revival in this otherwise large Georgian city. The church was commissioned by the Benedictines and built in 1861-3 to the designs of Charles Francis Hansom (1817-1888) and his son Edward Joseph Hansom (1842-1900). They adopted a flamboyant Decorated Gothic design, almost French in character exemplified particularly in the rose windows in the transepts yet the spire owes more to English precedents. The church is built of rough-faced Bath stone, and has a large aisled nave, with clerestory, transepts, an apsed chancel and side chapels. The interior has pink Devon Granite piers with foliated capitals. The decoration throughout is of high quality, with extensive use of marble and alabaster. The glass and the impressive iron screen in front of the chancel are by Hardman. In the north-west apse is a reliquary, also designed by Charles Hansom, containing the relics of the martyr, St Justina, donated in 1871 after many years in the possession of the Borghesi family.

The best place to worship God for miles around!! Lively worship, participatory prayers & spiritual…read moregifts form the congregation & inspirational preaching. Come & see us soon.

Ludlow Elim is one of the most awesome churches I've ever been to. The people are friendly, the…read morePraise & worship (modern in style) draws what you want to say to God & about God out of you. The teaching is great, & they're passionate people.... believing that God is about to do something remarkable in this little market town. OK the building is on the small side & you have to go up some stairs to get into the main worship area (tho' a chairlift is available!), but it's homely friendly & definitely inspiring! You should go there often!!!

Belmont Abbey is a community of Benedictine monks founded in 1859…read more They lead a life of work study and prayer. Attached to the monastery is a first class guest house 'Hedley Lodge' which has a excellent standard of service most rooms have TV, phone are en-suite and have a tea and coffee tray. The rooms are warm and comfortable and the food is excellent. I have attended several 'retreats' at the abbey and have found them of great value for 'getting away from it all 'for a few days The abbey although within walking distance from the town of Hereford is situated in quite countryside the only sound at night is the abbey clock chiming the hours This cannot be heard from many rooms. On one occasion when it was a popular retreat I was offered a room in the abbey itself. This was an interesting occurrence as there was no sound at all during the night A complete silence. A very unusual experience ! Even though I live in a fairly noiseless rural area a there is always some faint sounds. to be heard at night. The retreats which are usually for a weekend are given mostly by one of the monks of the community and obviously have a Christian basis. A complete list can be downloaded from their website As a sample there is in June a workshop on painting Icons where beginners and more experienced artists are welcome to try their hand at the art This year the subject will be the icon of Elijah.

While Hedley Lodge offers a good standard of hotel accomodation for those attending retreats or…read morecourses it is also possible to sample monastic life itself. These stays of typically 3 or 4 days can be arranged through the Guestmaster of the monastery; one of the monks. Accomodation is simple but sufficient - no en suite. You are invited to join the monks in their daily Benedictine routine. Morning prayers at 6am; Mass at 8am; help yourself breakfast; rest of the morning free to read or walk; prayers before lunch then formal served lunch. Afternoons free. Evening prayers at 6pm; help yourself dinner at 7pm. Night prayers at 8.30 or so, then the end of day bell rings. All meals are taken in silence. If you are 'stressed out' by the world and life's troubles and looking for peace of mind I can recommend the structure and discipline of the Benedictine routine. It is hard work but very effective therapy. The monks are nice guys and will look after you: they are allowed to communicate :-). You don't have to be catholic but it helps I suppose. I was going south after a major bereavement and this routine got me back on the front mental foot in 3 days. Great result. They should invoice the NHS really.

One day I walked around the corner and saw a vision of glimmering white and thought I was in India…read morelooking at the palace of a king. It seemed as though this impressive building had appeared overnight! What is so great about this ornate temple, topped with several large 'shikhars' or domes, is that it's smack bang in the middle of a residential area and shopping street. The community that worship here helped to build and finance it and it is full of beautiful detail including solid hand carved wooden doors. The temple is now very much a part of the Grangetown community. According to the Shree Swaminarayan temple website, local school children visit it as part of their religious education. Tip: before you visit the temple check out their website to learn more about the history of the building, it's beautifully written as well.

I'm not one to preach, but this lovely non-denominational Christian church is a spectacular…read morebuilding in Clifton. If religion is your thing and you're a young person looking to get involved in friendly bibled-based activities, then Woodlands might be for you. They hold a wide range of events for students. They're modern in attitude and style and have a community of around 800 worshippers. Pop along for the popular weekly lunches held between lectures on a variety of interesting subjects - religious, educational, philosophical. There's enough food for an army at bargain basement prices, and you might leave feeling spiritually nourished too, if that's your sort of thing.

This is such a funny church. Every year they have a BBQ during freshers week you pay a pound and…read morethey feed you with burgers sausages, biscuits and cakes. Great?! Only however if you get there early they place is so full by 12 that it is unlikely that you will be able to get plate. This is all part of a movement to reach out to the students that walk past their door every day, and i think it works. It is an amazing building too, with the main church and a more modern crypt beneath it.

This church was originally erected as a chapel of ease around the late 12th century. It was later…read moreenlarged and the West Tower was added in the 16th century at a cost of two thousand pounds. There have been many restorations over the years, especially during the 19th century. St Mary's became a parish church in 1923.More recent work has included the east window by the local artist, John Petts (1989), and a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham by Michael Tandy (1997). This is, without doubt, one of the most prominent buildings in the town, especially the 90 ft tower which dominates the landscape. I have walked past St Mary's many times without knowing anything about it, and taken photos of it too. It's very interesting to finally do a bit of research to find out more about this old church!

Lost and gasping for a caffeine hit on a sunny Sunday in Brecon? Just look to the heavens for the…read moreturreted steeple of St Mary's Church. Tower Cafe offers a fine coffee and cake, all served with a welcoming and genteel joviality and friendliness - right in the middle of the town. Americano with hot milk served perfectly. Sit outside under the shade of the mighty steeple and mix it with international visitors - offer to take a family snap with their cameras (remembering not to chop any feet or heads off treasured holiday snaps, however tempting). According to the sales assistant in WH Smiths, there are no good coffee places open in Brecon on a Sunday (this might not be totally accurate but definitely no Costa or Nero - a gap in the market?) - but the setting and ambiance of St Mary's Church Tower Cafe is a far superior alternative - and for a good cause too - very satisfying all round. Recommended. Hope this is useful.

This is a very attractive Victorian Roman Catholic church, just up Stow Hill from Newport City…read morecentre. History A small chapel was built on the site of the then-expanding seaport and industrial centre in 1812, but the town's continued growth meant that a larger church was soon needed, and the original chapel was demolished in 1839. The new church was built in the neo-Gothic style, with a prominent tower at the west end, which also formed the main entrance. Inside, the nave arcade was built with slender columns made of cast iron - the first such use of metal pillars in Wales. The construction of St Mary's took place around the same time as the Chartist uprising; the Chartist rioters passed the church and ordered workmen to join them, although they declined. In 1901 the original east window was replaced by one of the Assumption of the Virgin by John Hardman, who worked with the Pugins. The church The church is essentially in the Early English Gothic style, with tall lancets with shafts and hoods, and the slender piers have frilly stiff-leaf capitals. The most notable feature of the church from the outside is its tower, the muscular design of which provides a distinct contrast with the light and airy interior. Indeed, the pale pink walls with white arcades and detailing gives almost a wedding-cake like appearance. Today, the church is part of the united parish of 'All Saints' in Newport, formed in 2007 and incorporating six former parishes. Although the interior is not open outside service times, the outer doors are kept open, allowing one a good view into the nave.

A very good visitors guide to this church,with some good photos.. However,not much is said of the…read morefamous pipe organ in the gallery. And there are no photos of it. Neither is there a specification of the organ. Does not the music count for much in this church?

Set high on Stow Hill and commanding fine views over Newport, the Cathedral of St Woolos (Welsh: St…read moreGwynllyw) is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Monmouth. Incorporating elements spanning 1,000 years, it has a rich and fascinating history. History The exact origins of the church are shrouded in legend, but the first church is said to have been built around 500AD by Gwynllyw, a local Lord. He fell in love with Gwladys, daughter of the King Brychan (modern Brecon) but, having been refused her hand in marriage, he abducted her. Evidently she still married him and, over time, Gwynllyw was converted to Christianity both by Gwladys and their pious son Cadog (later St Cadog). Gwynllyw then built a religious settlement or Clas on the site of the present cathedral - chosen, again according to legend, after an angel in a dream told him to build a church where he found a white ox with a black spot on its head. This original 6th century building would have been made of wood and wattle-and-daub, but the site was revered sufficiently for the Saxons to build a later stone church on the site of the present St Mary's Chapel, possibly in the 10th century. The remains of this church constitute the oldest part of the present building. In 1080 a new church with a nave and lean-to aisles was built by the Normans, immediately east of the Saxon building. The earlier church was probably by this time a ruin, as the Norman west door pierced its east wall. Around 1200, the Saxon chapel was restored and the walls raised, with narrow lancet windows inserted above arched tomb niches. The church was badly damaged in 1402 by the forces of Owain Glyndwr, but later in the 1400s substantially enlarged and repaired, mostly by Jasper Tudor, uncle of Henry VII. The north aisle was enlarged and fine Perpendicular Gothic windows were inserted, followed later on by a similar enlargement of the south aisle, and a double-height south porch with a priest's house on the first floor. Finally, the tower was added towards the end of the 15th century, and included a statue of Jasper Tudor, as Governor of Newport 1485-95. The church's history then shows a period of steady decline: much damaged during the Civil War, by the early 19th century St Mary's Chapel had become a charnel house, and the nave had effectively become a chapel, with a singing gallery on the site of the rood screen, cutting off the nave from the chancel. Restoration began in 1818 with the repair of St Mary's Chapel, which then became the main entrance of the church. An extensive further restoration in 1853 replaced the south porch and the two 15th century south aisle windows with three new ones; restored the Norman font and 15th century chancel; and removed the singing gallery and inserted a new chancel arch. The next phase of building resulted from the decision in 1921 to create a new Diocese of Monmouth. After much deliberation, St Woolos was chosen to be the new Cathedral, a process finally completed in 1949. However, it was clear that the original chancel was too small for its function as cathedral, so an new East End was built in 1961-2 by the eminent architect ADR Caroe, decorated with a mural and new rose window designed by the artist John Piper. The church The church is today entered through the 15th century tower, into the 13th century St Mary's chapel. This includes the restored Norman font, with green men on each corner. The effigies in the tomb recesses are unfortunately horribly mutilated and decayed (and, sadly, rather fenced off by modern central heating pipes), although that of Sir John Morgan (d. 1491) and his wife Janet has some better preserved elements. The low window on the right has a mediaeval rose inserted into what is probably an original Saxon window. Stonework on the lower left and right sides also remains from the pre-Conquest church. Eyes are, however, drawn forwards to the Norman door, one of the Cathedral's treasures. The columns are very unusual, and are likely to be Roman, sourced from the settlement at Caerleon. The capitals are also unusual: they are of Composite design, but incorporate Norman humanistic sculpture (depicting praying men and birds). The capitals may therefore have been Roman, with the Norman work carved into them when the church was built. The arch itself has bands of bold zig-zag, billet and chevron decoration. The nave is instantly recognisable as Norman work, with five bays of rounded arches on round piers with scalloped cushion capitals. Both arcades have empty windows which once formed the clerestory, but became internal when the aisles were raised. On the left by the chancel arch, the door to the long-vanished rood-loft can be seen. The north aisle is bright and wide, the Tudor windows filled with clear glass; the south aisle is narrower, and a line of corbels indicates the height of the original aisle. At the east end, a tall modern Gothic arch leads onto St Luke's chapel, a

Since this Cathedral is in Wales, why not recognise the history of Christianity in Wales, this 5th…read moreCentury Welsh saint and the Welsh people, by giving back this Church it's original and correct name: The Church of St. Gwynllyn.

Once upon a time, when I was shorter (although maybe not a lot) and had longer hair (a lot), I was…read morea Brownie in the church hall here. I had some really great times, as I recall; playing fruit salad and the chocolate bar game. Making pancakes and flower displays for mother's day... good and simple times were had by all. The church building itself is raised up on a little hill on the corner of Conway road, so has a particularly grand appearance when you first approach, with its steps running up to the main door. Inside, it is a very beautiful example of church-dom. Over the years I've been to a handful of services here, mostly at Christmas time (it was a tradition for me and my visiting Grandma), I 'll have to admit. The service style is fairly traditional, exactly what you might expect from a Methodist church really: that blend of timelessness with a more modern blend of humanity creeping through. Although the congregation is not huge, there are a lot of children at this church who are very well catered for.