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Sites Anne T has logged on trip number: 196 (View all trips)
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Pontfaen Church
Trip No.196 Entry No.1 Date Added: 10th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Pontfaen Church submitted by Anne T on 10th Sep 2026. Pontfaen 1, from the side view to best see the outline of the carving. Another image from another angle follows. A bit difficult to photograph without stepping on the graves immediately in front.
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Log Text: St Brynach's Church, Pontfaen: Our first stop on a drizzly, grey morning, but well worth winding our way down the narrow lanes to the Cwm Gwaun valley, which is very pretty indeed.
Found the church easily enough, with a small layby just down the hill to the right hand side of the road, about 50m past the gate and driveway leading to the church. As soon as we got into the churchyard (again, the churchyard is above the level of the church), the stones were obvious. Although - someone had built a huge black marble surround to a family plot just in front of them, which virtually blocked our view of the smaller stone, and made it much more difficult to photograph.
The church is clearly very well cared for, and a showcase for some impressive Stations of the Cross plaques and some amazing ecclesiastical vestments. The church has a very Catholic feel, although it was a little difficult to tell which was the main denomination here, as these days, many churches host more than one faith.
By the time I finished photographing the stones, I was dripping wet, and we decided to head on further down the Cwm Gwaun valley to revisit the Pillar Stones.
The Pillar Stones
Trip No.196 Entry No.2 Date Added: 10th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 10th Sep 2026
Pillar Stones submitted by PaulM on 24th Apr 2003. The Pillar Stones are a group of four Christianised stones located in a churchyard in the Gwaun Valley in Pembrokeshire (SN123340).
The reverse of each of the stones is carved a cross of differing designs. A fifth stone seems to act as a font.
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Log Text: The Pillar Stones, Llanychlwydog 1- 4: We visited this site back in August 2014, and were unsure as to whether this site was in the process of becoming a private house or not. As there was no-one there to ask, I did quickly photograph the stones and submit them to this site page.
As we were driving through Cwm Gwaun today, we decided to try and stop again and re-photograph the stones, but this time round, the property is very much a private residence, so permission needs to be sought before visiting. When double checking how to go about this, I came across "The History Couple's" blog which says that "we believe the churchyard may be able to be visited without permission", although as the stones are in the garden of the house, I'm unsure if this is accurate or not.
St Dogmael's Abbey and Visitor Centre
Trip No.196 Entry No.3 Date Added: 11th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
St Dogmael's Abbey and Visitor Centre submitted by Anne T on 14th Sep 2026. The Cadaver Stone: displayed under glass. "Cadaver Stone: This cadaver stone formed part of a table tomb, where an effigy of the decaying corpse is often shown resting below an effigy of the person in life. The cadaver was a depiction of the inevitability of death, no matter how great a person's earthly status, and was often adorned with gruesome additions such as snails, lizards, snakes, worms or beetles feeding on the flesh. Probably locate in the north wall of the crossing of the Abbey chu...
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Log Text: St Dogmael's Abbey and Visitor Centre: We were given a very warm welcome by the staff in the cafe, who explained where the stones are kept ("the ogam stone in the church, the others in the small museum". The cafe, whilst small, had a vibrant, community atmosphere, with a knit-crochet-and-natter group taking place in one corner and groups of people enjoying large lunches. The coffee was lovely.
I was reluctant to use my flash to take images of the stones, but a lady sitting at a table at the entrance to the small display area told me not to worry. It turned out she was one of the staff, and she told me about The Blessing Stone not far away.
By the time we'd finished walking around the Abbey, then across to the church and back, we were both drenched, so headed back to the car and our holiday cottage to dry off, promising ourselves to return, if time allowed, tomorrow.