Llangattock is near Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons. The church is in the centre of the old part of the village (Postcode NP8 1PH). What3words brand.handrail.raven
Church history
Llangattock Church is an ancient foundation, dating back to the 6th century. The present building dates back to medieval times. For further details about the church building please click on the links below:
Clywyd- Powys Archaeological Trust
Churchyard
We have a very old churchyard, surrounded by a wall and containing two ancient yew trees. Although some grave stones were removed in the late 70s because they were unsafe, we have many old graves, even some from the 18th Century.
For some years we had sheep grazing – quite a good solution, although the timing has to be right for the wild flowers, so it was decided to cut the grass again. However, if the grass is strimmed every 6-8wks and left, it looks unsightly for most of that time and grows too much between cuts. We found it even more disastrous for wild flowers, especially when the primroses or cowslips were decimated, so we went on a course given by Caring for God’s Acre.
It confirmed much of what we suspected, mainly that cut grass is a good fertiliser – for grass. We were just feeding our grass and making more work at the expense of the flowers, which need, or are happy with, poor soil. That is why, in the summer months, you may wonder why we do not look after our churchyard, or wonder why we do not use machinery. We probably are a bit mad, but year on year, when we have our annual cut at the end of the summer, the grass is a little less prolific, so it works.
A couple of us put in many hours cutting paths and pulling grass to reduce the seed and thin the plants and we have some volunteers who tend particular graves, for instance the War Graves.
Each year we have recorded many plants and insects, including some rare moths and last year found a nest of slow worms. We also found a bumble bee’s nest and hear grasshoppers – a rare sound these days.
Do come and walk the paths and discover some of the history of Llangattock. You may even be tempted to pull a little grass and clear one of the graves – we would love to have more volunteers and though it may seem a daunting task, if many people adopted one grave, it would make a difference.
Stained Glass
Llangattock Church has some notable stained glass windows.