Traditional Symbols

These symbols of the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ are at one end of a magnificent rood screen, carved by master craftsmen for St Fagans Museum near Cardiff.

The screen is inside St Teilo's Church, which was the parish church in Llandeilo Tal-y-bont near Swansea. It was originally built in the 12th Century, with later alterations and additions, and was a place of worship until the 1970s before falling into disuse.

The church was taken down to be rebuilt and restored at St Fagans from 1984 onwards, with the interior shown as it may have appeared in about 1520. This took years, the building not opening to the public until 2007. It has not been re-consecrated as a church, being primarily a building for visitors to the museum, but a few services have been held there.

The interior walls are covered with restored ancient wall paintings, which were hidden under layers of whitewash. They were only discovered in the early 1980s when experts from St Fagans were planning the removal of St Teilo's from Llandeilo Tal-y-bont.