The Celtic church in a farmyard with a special Easter legacy

Stephen Price

There are thousands of small family farms dotted over the hills, valleys and coastal plains of Wales – but few have a Celtic church in the farmyard.

Yet that’s the story at Llanwern, near lake Langors, where over the years a hamlet of small farms has grown around a little sixth century Celtic church Llan, making it a quiet and special corner today in the heart of the Bannau Brecheiniog National Park.

This Easter, the little church has begun a project displaying fifteen important modern paintings by the London artist Mark Cazalet that show the Easter story and the Easter legacy set in contemporary London.

The rural setting of the farmyard church contrasts highly with the flyovers, scrapyards, prisons, tube stations and London parks where Cazalet has chosen to portray the Easter story.

The paintings are on display every day to the public until 29 May.

Heddwch

“It’s a really special, beautiful place,” said Richard Parry, director of the New Library in Llantwit Major, who has led the project with local churches around lake Llangors.

“Over the past few weeks the paintings have been distributed amongst pubs, shops and cafes around hay-on-Wye and Crickhowell as part of daily town life in the region.”

He added: “People have seen them in shop windows, at the petrol station, in pubs, at the butchers and in the salvage yard. Now we’ve brought them together so everyone can enjoy the whole story.

“It brings the legacy of the Easter narrative vividly to life, and the little hamlet of Llanwern is a great place to encounter it.”

“This church has been part of the life of these farms for countless generations,” say Llewelyn Gatehouse whose farm yard connects to the church through a gate. “The church has been part of the rhythm of life here and it’s a privilege to be able to farm today alongside it.”

St Cynidr

The original Celtic church was dedicated to St Cynidr, whose name still survives today in the nearby village name Llangynidr, and originally there were many more places in the area named after Cynidr, including a hermit’s retreat on an island in the river Wye.

But after conquering Wales, the Normans changed the names of the Cynidr churches so that today his name is missing from the landscape.

“I think we should remember Cynidr,” says Rev Anna Bessant, who serves four churches around Llyn Safaddan.

“He was an important and influential figure in the age of the Celtic saints and his presence here in Llanwern connects strongly to the story of the development of Christianity in mid-Wales.

“I like to think that having these vibrant modern paintings here today in this simple church, bringing the Easter legacy to life, is something Cynidr would have approved of. We welcome everyone today to come and have a look”

“Visitors to the church are always friendly,” says Enid Jones who lives at Ty Draw farm, one of the handful of farms in Llanwern that surround the church, “and it’s nice to be able to chat to people who have come to enjoy the quiet and peaceful atmosphere around the place.”

The modern paintings are on daily display in Llanwern until 29 May 2025.