tempus fugit

By ceridwen

Many hands...

did not make light work when half a dozen or so volunteers joined with archaeologists to tackle the overgrown churchyard of Llanllawer just a couple of miles from where I live. The church was closed  over three decades  ago and has been slowly decaying under the influence of time, weather and neglect. The graves, dating from the turn of the turn of the 19thC, have been lost to view and access.
Under the helpful eye of Jack (in the red gloves) we started by rolling back a carpet of turf that was threatening to submerge the path, revealing in the process an ornamental edge, we next laid into the thickets of bramble and bracken to begin revealing the graves and then, after an alfresco lunchbreak, we started to record the details of the memorial stones and their inscriptions (in both English and Welsh). Using an established format we noted their size and shape, ornamentation and inscription. All the burials were of local people who were born, lived their lives and died in the immediate area, the oldest 93 and the youngest less that a year.
It was a satisfying if strenuous day. I'll be back later in the week and by the end of it the place should be transformed, - if just for a short time before nature regains its hold. 
A couple of temporary extras;  and the church itself was previously blipped here.

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.