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Feb 10, 2022 6 tweets 3 min read Read on X
When we took Tuxlith Chapel in West Sussex into our care in the 1970s, it had been derelict for decades. At the time we didn't have enough money to re-instate the lath and plaster ceiling, so we nailed some painted boards across the ceiling.

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This did the trick until last year, when the boards began to fail, so we went back, and this time, thanks to a Culture Recovery Fund grant, we can restore the lath and plaster ceiling.

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#HereForCulture
Here it is in an early phase of the work.

The plasterer, Ian Holloway, carefully removed all the rusting nails and damp boards, and has set out the base for his plaster: carefully spaced riven oak laths.

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The first (of three) coat of lime plaster will be rough, and will squeeze through these laths - the plaster will then almost hang from laths.

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We'll share another update soon, but we think these laths are so beautiful, it's almost a shame to cover them over, and they certainly deserve a post of their own!

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Bonus tweet: a little video, if videos are your thing.

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More from @friendschurches

Sep 15
Founded in 1689, Fairfield Friends Meeting House in West Yorkshire is one of the oldest Quaker meeting houses in the world.

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The Quaker movement emerged in the North of England in the mid-17th century, in the years after the English Civil War.

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In 1666, the burial ground at Farfield was gifted to the Quaker community by Anthony Myers, a leading local Quaker and lord of the manor.

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Read 9 tweets
Sep 11
A marriage of faith, farming, landscape and language, placenames remind us of the personal, poetic origins of a location. This is true for Llangua.

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‘Llan’ is an enclosure usually associated with a church. The element which follows, most commonly a personal name, is mutated. Llangua is the church of St Cywa (English: Kew, Ciwa).

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Although there is no obvious physical evidence for a church being here before the 12th century, the survival of that placename is our first clue in understanding the development of the religious foundation on this site.

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Read 10 tweets
Aug 18
The sanctuary of St Philip’s, Caerdeon is a bejewelled Byzantine-esque treat.

In this thread, we will explore the history and details of this beautiful ensemble.

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Casting a kaleidoscope of jewel-toned light across the sanctuary, the east window was produced by the Kempe studio, one of Victorian Britain’s preeminent stained glass firms.

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Intriguingly, this stunning window takes the form of a continental church altarpiece: a crucifixion scene situated within a classical frame, adorned with sumptuous baroque details such as fluted golden Corinthians, foliate swags, and flaming urns.

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Read 7 tweets
Jul 28
With a 15th-century rood loft hovering over rows of 18th-century box pews, the interior of St David’s, Llangeview in Monmouthshire offers a glimpse into the forms of worship from two bygone ages.

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Spanning the entire width of the nave, the rood loft is a relic from the late medieval past. Before the Reformation, the rood loft would have carried the rood, a carving of Christ on the cross.

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Alongside Christ, there would have been carved depictions of the Virgin Mary and John the Apostle. Sadly, none of the medieval roods survived the Reformation.

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Read 8 tweets
Jul 23
Caught Moss-Handed: how the rare mosses on the roof of St James’s, Llangua enabled the conviction of two criminals in the 1950s.

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In the summer of 1951, a farmer spotted two men climbing on the roof of Llangua church at dusk. Unfortunately, by the time the police arrived, the men had fled the scene.

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After committing further criminals acts in the local area — namely the theft of tools and car batteries — the authorities caught the men, who turned out to be two brothers that had come to Monmouthshire from Cardiff.

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Read 8 tweets
Jul 9
Across the centuries, the saintly dedication of a parish church can change — and at Manordeifi in Pembrokeshire, it is thought that the church's dedication has shifted several times throughout its long history.

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A Christian place of worship at Manordeifi is believed to have stood on the site of the present church since the 7th century. The earliest church here was reportedly dedicated to St Llawddog.

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A son of the Prince of Usk and a renowned as a miracle-worker, Llawddog became the focus of a popular local saintly cult. As such, there are thought to be four other churches in the region that were also originally dedicated to him.

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Read 8 tweets

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