Outcry as culturally important church goes up for auction
Stephen Price
Many notable Welsh public figures have joined a growing outcry over the sale of a parish church that has a significant cultural importance for the whole of Wales.
A petition has been launched to to stop the sale of St Michael’s Church, the parish church of Llanfihangel-yng-ngwynfa, Powys which was the worshipping place of Ann Griffiths – one of Wales’ most celebrated hymn writers and religious poets.
Ann’s poems express her fervent Christian faith and reflect her incisive intellect and thorough scriptural knowledge. She is the most prominent female hymnist in Welsh.
Ann’s work is regarded as a highlight of Welsh literature, and her longest poem Rhyfedd, rhyfedd gan angylion… (Wondrous, wondrous to angels…) was described by the dramatist and literary critic Saunders Lewis as “one of the majestic songs in the religious poetry of Europe”.
Together with Mary Jones (1784–1864), a poor Welsh girl who walked to Bala to buy a Bible, Ann Griffiths became a national icon by the end of the 19th century, and was a significant figure in Welsh nonconformism.
The sale
The church is up for sale with agents Morris Marshall & Poole by online auction on Thursday 11 April at 2.00pm with a guide price of £30,000.
The listing says: “Comprising a substantial unlisted former place of worship, situated in a prominent location within the Conservation Area of the small semi-rural village of Llanfihangel yng Ngwynfa.
“Traditionally built, to a particular style, in dressed local stone walls under a slate clad roof. This substantial building offers scope for a variety of alternative uses (subject to planning consent).”
Further details share that: “As a registered charity (registered charity number: 1142813) our client is required to obtain best value in all disposals of property in line with the provisions of the Charities Act 2011 and to ensure that terms are endorsed by a chartered surveyor as being in accordance with the Act.
“Planning: The property currently falls within planning use D1 of the Use Classes Order. Alternative uses may be possible subject to planning consent. Prospective purchasers must make their own enquiries with the local planning authority.”
Lleuwen Steffan is just one person speaking out on social media about the sale of the culturally important site, and the impact its sale would have on Wales.
She wrote on Facebook: “Born in Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa, Ann Griffiths (1776–1805) was arguably Wales’s brightest hymn-writer. She died following childbirth aged 29, and was buried here at Eglwys Sant Mihangel.
“We are still riding on the wave of the poetic expression of her faith.
“The church where she is buried is for sale and it’s heartbreaking. She was baptized here. And married here.
“It goes to auction in a week. It is a place of great historical importance. But Welsh History is disregarded.
“And so I have to remind myself about what they say about bricks and mortar. Buildings fall. We come and we go. This is all just dust.
“Ann Griffiths wrote a total of just 30 hymns and as clichés go it really is quality rather than quantity. Her hymns are imprinted in our collective memory.”
Petition
We, those who have signed below, declare our dissatisfaction with the plans of the officials of the Church to sell Saint Michael’s Church. In our opinion, this Church has a special place in the history of Wales.
Here the hymnist Ann Griffiths worshipped. Ann Griffiths is considered among the greatest religious poets in Europe.
It was here in the Church that she was baptized and married. Her body continues to lie in the Church grounds.
We believe that one of the largest religious organizations in our country, namely The Church in Wales, has the financial means to stop this sale.
As the auction takes place in just one week (April 11 2024). We believe that there is not enough time to start a national campaign to save the building for the nation. We therefore declare that the sale must be stopped. And that in order to discover different forms and sources to save this important building.
You can view the petition here.
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Y mae hyn yn warth cenedlaethol. Dyma un eglwys y dylai’r Eglwys yng Nghymru ei gwarchod, neu CADW o leiaf. Dylid atal y gwerthiant ar fyrder i allu dechrau ymgyrch godi arian cenedlaethol i brynu’r lle i’r genedl. Mae capel Tom Nefyn bellach yn dŷ haf. Na foed i eglwys Ann Griffiths fynd yr un ffordd.
Either the Church or possibly Y Senedd should buy it and use it as a special place for religious and cultural activities. After all buying a farm for over £4 million to facilitate a cultural event was O.K by our political leaders so a fraction of that outlay should be within their reach. Wake up and secure this piece of heritage.
1300 people have signed the petition so far. If they each chipped in £25 they could buy the church
So they could if they could afford to lay out £25 each. My point made above is that this church has a real heritage value and should be on the “to buy” list of Y Senedd ( ein Llywodraeth), Cadw or any of the other agencies that seem to inhabit the culture/ heritage /history space.
For shame! Is nothing sacred?
While agreeing that the building in question should be preserved in some form, I must take issue with the presumption that the Church in Wales has the financial means to stop the sale. While not on the brink of bankruptcy, large parts of it are in the death throws, and it remains to be seen what will remain in ten years time.
Let us not also forget that this church held Y Blygain Fawr every year, a traditional catol service held on January which is a major Welsh cultural tradition. This isa second very good heritage reason for retaining and developing the church.
A quick look at the Coflein website reveals that the church in its current form was built in 1863/4, nearly 60 years after Ann Jones’ tragically early death. She presumably worshipped in the older building it replaced. If this building does have cultural and religious significance, the body best placed to take it on would probably be Friends of Friendless Churches, but perhaps it does not meet their criteria for preservation.
The picture is of St Mary’s in Llwydiarth, not St Michael’s in Llanfihangel yng Nghwynfa.