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 The
church of St. Michael and All Angels at Cascob dates from the 13th
century. it has a simple 14th century oak screen, a stone font and
a fine bell tower with one bell, dated 1663.
There is a local legend that the last Welsh Dragon lies asleep
deep in Radnor Forest and that long ago the people of this area
built four churches in a circle around the forest. The four churches
are all dedicated to St Michael, the conqueror of the dragon, to
make sure the sleeping dragon does not escape. The legend goes on
to state that if any one of these churches is destroyed the dragon
will awaken and ravage the countryside once more. |
| The name of the parish has caused a great deal of speculation. Some
would argue that it is a mutation of the Welsh words Cae + Esgob which
would mean "the Bishop's Meadow." This would seem to be
very unlikely. The Domesday reference notes it as Cascope, which means
the eminence or mound overlooking the Cas, which is the stream running
close by. This would appear to be a more acceptable interpretation
of the name.
The small belfry tower has a bell dated 1633 and inscribed “'Jesus be our speed”. The church was restored in 1895 and redecorated in 1969. The cross above the screen and the elaborate reredos behind the alter were added in the late 19th century restoration. Two tablets, the one on the north wall of the sanctuary and the
other on the north wall of the nave, are particularly interesting.
The first, in the sanctuary, is in memory of a former incumbent,
who was very prominent in Welsh literary circles in the nineteenth
century, William Jenkins Rees who was Rector of Cascob from 1806-1855.
The tablet was placed there by the Honourable Society of Cymrodorion
for his contribution to Welsh letters, and notably for the part
which he played in the revival of the Welsh National Eisteddfod
at the end of the nineteenth century. Rees was also the author of
'the Lives of Carnbro-Bntish Saints', editor of the Welsh Manuscripts
Society, and a contributor to the Liber Landavensis. On the outside of the church, there is a large mound against the
west end, similar to the one at Bleddfa. This has been romantically
thought to be a Bronze Age burial mound on which the church was
built. Excavation at Bleddfa, however, disclosed the remains of
an earlier tower, and it seems likely that the same would apply
at Cascob, or else it is added support for a structural weakness
in the west end. The circular graveyard suggesting a very ancient
burial ground. |
The
church consists of a nave and sanctuary, with no windows on the
north side, and a fine oak screen dating from the fourteenth century.
In the sanctuary there is a triangular aumbry (a recess or cupboard
within a church, used for the storage of sacred vessels) and square
piscina (a basin with a drain set in the wall, water was poured
from a jug over the vessels to wash them) which are thirteenth century.
The font is octagonal and dates from the fourteenth century.
The
other tablet of interest is the ABRACADABRA on the north wall of
the nave. This is dated circa 1700 and was an accepted means of
exorcising evil spirits at that time, and was used at Cascob to
deliver one Elizabeth Lloyd from demon possession. Beneath the tablet
is the legend containing the signs of the Zodiac, and the incantation
that was used.