Due to Richard Booth, Hay-on-Wye is widely known as the "town of books".[11][12] On April Fools day in 1977, Booth proclaimed Hay-on-Wye as an "independent kingdom". He declared himself as "King" and his horse as "Prime Minister".[13][14]
In 1740, William Seward, a lay preacher from the Calvinistic MethodistTheological CollegeColeg Trefeca (near Talgarth) and other outsiders visited Hay-on-Wye to promote the Calvinistic Methodist cause. Allegedly a stone thrown from a hostile crowd in Black Lion Green in Hay-on-Wye resulted in Seward receiving head injuries. He died a few days later, becoming the firstMethodistMartyr.[28] The historicity of the incident is disputed for various reasons including the lack of contemporary evidence. ArchdeaconRev. Dr W. L. Bevan (Vicar of St. Mary's in Hay-on-Wye, 1845-1901) an authority on the history of the Welsh Church said that the "highly coloured account of the martyr's death on the tombstone in Cusop churchyard is dated at least 100 years after Seward's death".[29][30] The event may have been a conflation of similar documented incidents.[31]
After the 1762 Welsh Methodist revival, some congregations were nicknamed 'the Jumpers'.[32] In 1774, John Wesley preached in St. John's Chapel in Hay-in-Wye.[33][34] He described 'the Jumpers', "they clapped their hands with the utmost violence; they shook their heads; they distorted all their features; they threw their arms and legs to and fro in all variety of postures; they sang, roared, shouted, screamed with all their might to the no small terror of those that were near them".[32][35]
In 1828, the Tabernacle Calvinistic Methodist Chapel was built in Belmont Rd. in Hay-on-Wye.[36] The word "Tabernacle" emphasises the presence of God and the practice of Holy Communion.[37] The building of the new Chapel was overseen by its minister Rev. Dr. Thomas Phillips (1803-70),[38] who lived in Castle St.[39][40] with a stipend of £30 per annum.[41] Previously, Phillips trained clergy for the "South Wales Home Missionary Society" (in Neuadd-lwyd).[42] Their mission included the anglicised parts of Wales, like Hay-on-Wye.[43][44][45] Methodists often attended Anglican services as well as their own.[31][46] The congregation grew in the Tabernacle Chapel, in part due to Phillips efforts and the absence of a Sunday evening service at nearby St. Mary's. Tabernacle Chapel services were at 11am, 2pm and 6pm (Sunday) and 7pm (Monday).[47] Services might have been conducted in Welsh or English or both - given the number of services.[48]
In 1834, Samuel Lewis described the Tabernacle Chapel as a "handsome place of worship". Phillips "kept a school".[49] Lewis commends the Tabernacle Chapelteachers for freely teaching local children.[50] In 1836, after a decade as minister, Phillips left to become the "indefatigable and marvellously successful" Welsh secretary[41] of the ecumenical British and Foreign Bible Society in Hereford.[51][52][53]
Francis Kilvert
Between 1865 and 1872, whilst Curate for Clyro, Francis Kilvert often visited Llanthomas (in Llanigon) and his friend Rev. Dr W. L. Bevan who lived in Hay Castle.[54] He will have walked past the Tabernacle Chapel. Given Kilvert's attention to detail in the surviving diaries it is surprising that the Tabernacle Chapel is not mentioned. However, as a loyal Anglican, Kilvert had little time for non-conformists, whom Kilvert called dissenters.[55]
Richard Owens
In 1872, a new stone-built chapel was partly built on the foundations of the original Tabernacle Chapel, retaining portions of the original walls. It cost £700 to build, worth about £100,000 today.[56][57] The Chapel was designed by the prolific Calvinistic Methodist architect Richard Owens of Liverpool. The building contractor was Mr. James Webb of Hay-on-Wye.[58] At the end of the 19th-century of the 6,427 known non-conformist chapels in Wales, more than half had been rebuilt at least once.[59] The building of the upgraded Tabernacle Chapel was overseen by its minister Rev. Richmond Leigh Roose.[60][61][62][63][64] Roose was the father of the Wales international footballerLeigh Richmond,[65] who died heroically in the 1916 Somme offensive. Leigh is rightly commemorated at the Thiepval memorial in France.[66][67] Rev. B. Lewis followed Rev. R. L. Roose as Tabernacle Chapel minister.[68][69]
Rhys Prytherch
The Calvinistic Methodist minister Rev. Rhys Thomas Pryddererch (or Prytherch) was a respected preacher in the Hay-on-Wye area. He died heroically in 1917 within 10 days of arriving on the Western front.[70][71] He is rightly commemorated on the Hay-on-Wye and Cusop War Memorial.[72][73][23][74]
The eventual decline in the congregation may be due to the small number of Welsh speakers in Hay-on-Wye and/or nuanced theological differences with the nearby English speaking Wesleyan Methodist and Independent Methodist Chapels. Emigration to the United States by Methodists seeking greater religious freedom was another factor. The dwindling congregation had to augment the meagre stipends given to ministers.[31] The Tabernacle Chapel closed sometime in the 1960s. The last dated document is a 1963 list of preachers who were qualified and available to lead services when the regular minister was unavailable.[75][76][77]
History: St. Joseph's Parish and Church, Hay-on-Wye (1892 - 1925)
Hay-on-Wye modern map (displayed at the Cheese Market)
Without a Roman Catholic church in Hay-on-Wye, the faithful assisted one another to get to churches in the local area.[84] The nearest Roman Catholic Churches included Brecon,[85]Weobley,[86]Belmont[87] and Hereford.[88][89] From 1812, horse-drawn carriages running on rail, transported goods between Brecon and Hay-on-Wye. The track passed along the back of what would become the Tabernacle Chapel.[90][91] In 1864, the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway was opened for passengers and goods, reusing the tramway track. Roman Catholics that could afford the train were able to get to Churches in Hereford and Brecon, until the line was closed in 1962.[84]
The origins of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Parish had a Celtic influence. Henry Richard Grant came from Scotland in 1892. Thomas Joseph Madigan came from Ireland in 1909, as did Rose Jones (née Fitzgerald) in 1926 and the Dewan family. Rose received the Papal award, the Benemerenti medal. Many third-generation descendants of the Victorian and Edwardian families are active parishioners today.[96]
H.R. Grant on Castle St. and former flannel mill on Belmont Rd
Henry Richard Grant, ran a newsagents/toy shop and a printing business[97][98][99] from 6 Castle St.[100][101][102] in Hay-on-Wye. Francis Kilvert was a frequent visitor to the newsagents, in the time of its previous owner George Horden.[103] Henry Grant was married to Jane Victoria (née Hughes), they had seven sons and two daughters. Henry Norman, their eldest son, died heroically in 1916,[104][105] on the first day of the Somme offensive.[106] He is rightly commemorated on the Hay-on-Wye and Cusop War Memorial.[107][108]
From early in the 20th-century and for the first time since the reformation, Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated in Hay-on-Wye. Regular house Masses were celebrated in the homes of the Grant's and the Madigan's on alternating Sundays. The Masses were served by the SecularPriests from Brecon or the Benedictines of Belmont (designated an Abbey in 1920).
Cheese Market in 1885 poster - (displayed at the Cheese Market)Cheese Market timeline poster - (displayed at the Cheese Market)
A combined cheese market and town hall was built in 1835, on the site of a pre 17th-century Guildhall, (formerly the Hay-on-Wye Town Hall).[124] The hired rooms were used as a Masonic lodge until 1972.[125][126] The upstairs door had "a curious peephole" and "a round circle of wood that can be slid sideways from the inside to check for intruders" alluding to secretive Masonic ceremonies.[127]
In the 1901 census, Thomas Joseph Madigan (born 1878) was recorded as "a servant". By 1909, he was a stable hand at Kinnersley Castle when he married Edith Adelaide James. She was the daughter of the station master at Kinnersley railway station. They had two sons, Terrence and Desmond (aka Dessie), the brothers married two sisters Mildred and Gloria (née Harrison), respectively. By 1925, Thomas was a Councillor for Hay Town Council[128] and was a Justice of the Peace for Hay and Brecon.[129] Thomas owned two businesses in Castle St.(opposite H.R. Grant's shop), one selling car/bicycle parts, and petrol from the pavement. The other business was the Plaza Cinema (now Hay Cinema Bookshop). He also owned a garage (previously owned by J.V. Like) which was opposite the Swan Hotel.[130] Thomas gained his knowledge of car mechanics from a correspondence course.
In 1925, Thomas acquired the lease from the local council for the two upper rooms over the Cheese Market which were used by the Market St. stall holders for storage. The smaller room was used as the Sacristy.[131][132] The larger room became St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, becoming the third Christian denomination to use the room. Previously the room was used by the Wesleyan Methodists (before moving to Trinity Chapel in Oxford Rd. built in 1872) and the Independent Methodists(before moving to Ebenezer Chapel in Broad St. built in 1875).[31][133] St. Joseph's Parish was created sometime in the 1920s, probably when Bishop Francis Vaughan the Bishop of Menevia gave consent for Roman Catholic Mass to be celebrated in the hired room. Colonel Abel Morrell of Wyecliffe, Miss Binney (who later became a Nun) and the first priest Fr. Herbert Flannery (from Belmont) spent months decorating and furnishing the dilapidated assembly room. They acquired surplus pews from Weobley[134] and Belmont. The Mass centre was served either by the Belmont (Abbey) clergy from 1926-30 and 1939-48 or the Brecon (St. Michael's) clergy from 1930-39 and 1948-59.[84]
Current parishioners remember that the assembly room ceiling leaked when it rained. The weight of roosting pigeons on the compromised roof structure caused its collapse on to the altar below. The smell of the pigeon droppings remained long after the roof was repaired. Although the staircase was wide, getting coffins up and down the steep staircase was challenging.[135][136][137] There was a public toilet in the market hall below the rooms. The assembly room was known as the "Catholic church on top of the public loo" - or similar wording![138][84]
Without a Roman Catholic school in Hay-on-Wye, Fr. John Brady (the "kind priest") introduced a catechism class on Saturday afternoons in the assembly room. Catechist Mrs Eileen Biddle is fondly remembered by current parishioners. In good weather she would transfer the class to her home overlooking the River Wye in Witney-on-Wye.[139][84][140] Eileen hosted garden parties to raise funds for the church. Mrs Eileen Ashton a convert was the ad-hoc caretaker, church cleaner, organist (playing a harmonium), diarist, mother to six children (including the author Bridget Ashton), adopted and fostered children, fed the visiting clergy and was engaged in many altruistic activities.[127][141][138] Miss Chappell headmistress of the school in Capel-y-Ffin (and later Craswell) led the congregation in hymn singing.[142][143]Benediction followed Sunday Mass on special occasions like Trinity Sunday.[127]
Mass attendance grew during World War II as Roman Catholic evacuees were billeted to Hay-on-Wye.[144] The military section of the Mid-Wales Hospital at Talgarth became a prisoner of war (POW) hospital.[145]German and Italian POWs who died in the hospital are buried in the Hay-on-Wye cemetery.[146][147][148] After the war Mass attendance was further increased by former Italian POWs who stayed in the UK. They lived and worked in a timber yard in Hay-on-Wye including Ricuecio Biagio, Adeldo Raffaele etc.[127][149][150]Polishrefugees were resettled in Hay-on-Wye. Mr Pyrzakowski (aka Kosky) had a clock and watch repair workshop in Hay-on-Wye. His wife was an artist and music teacher.[127]
On one occasion Fr. Patrick Shannon was called away after Mass on a family emergency, and had to leave the Blessed Sacrament. The bishop gave permission for John Grant and Thomas Madigan to watch and pray with the Blessed Sacrament in the interim period before collection.[84] In 1951, the Mass centre was formally registered for marriages. The first Roman Catholic marriage in Hay-on-Wye in more than 4 centuries, took place in St. Joseph's. Fr. William Cubley married Terrence Madigan (son of Thomas and Edith) and Mildred (née Harrison).[96][84][151][152]
In the late 1950s, John and Clive Grant, Des Madigan and other parishioners raised money to buy the Grade II listed Ashbrook House, in Church Street, Hay-on-Wye.[153][154][155][156][157][158] This became known as the oldPresbytery. The intention was to build a church in the grounds at some future date.[159][160][161] In October 1960, Bishop John Petit the Bishop of Menevia appointed Fr. Hugh Healey as the resident Roman Catholic Priest for the parish, the first since the 16th-century. He lived in the old Presbytery.[162] Anecdotal evidence by current parishioners reveal that Fr. Healey would celebrate a veryearly Sunday morning Mass at St. Mary's chapel, Capel-y-Ffin, a distant outpost of the parish. He would then rush back to Hay-on-Wye to celebrate early Mass.[151] A Church Building Funding Committee was set up, achieving excellent results. External practical and financial support was provided by Cyfeillion Amgueddfa Cymru (Friends of National Museum Wales),[163] and from the Sisters of Mercy and the school children they taught in Glenamaddy, Galway, Eire. Fr. Healey's zeal for fund raising was tireless. He held monthly jumble sales on the lawn of the old Presbytery. He would drive around the UK (and Eire) to collect jumble, furniture and other items. He was affectionally known as 'Steptoe' and the 'King of the Totters'. He would often repair and renovate the items to make a few shillings for the parish. He made leather belts and wallets to order, and would sell them in Covent Garden, London.[96][84][164]
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
In 1967, rather than build a new church within the grounds of the old Presbytery, Fr. Healey purchased the Tabernacle Chapel, Belmont Rd. in Hay-on-Wye. The cost was £1,500, worth about £35,000 today.[165] It was refurbished, furnished, re-roofed and adapted for Roman Catholic use by the firm of architects F.R. Bates, Son & Price of Newport at a cost of £6,000 (at the time) leaving a debt over £3,000 (at the time). The firm specialised in modernising Catholic churches across South Wales.[166][167][168][169][170][171][172] The building contractor was Mr Percy Price of Hay-on-Wye. For the first time St. Joseph's Parish had its own Church. On May 28, 1967 (Ascension day), the Church was blessed and opened by Bishop Petit who participated in the Second Vatican Council.[173] The ecumenical spirit of the Second Vatican Council was manifest by the attendance of local Clergy from other Christian denominations.[151]
In 1968, the PresbyterianRev. Dr Ian Paisley and other outsiders came to Hay-on-Wye to lead a small group of protesters about the repurposing of the Tabernacle Chapel. Paisley did not suffer the same fate as the Methodist martyr William Seward, but he did suffer the same lack of influence over the locals.[31]Richard Booth revealed that the outsiders did not reflect the view of the people of Hay-on-Wye.[151][164] In the spirit of ecumenism, Rev. Tom Wright a Presbyterian from Coleg Trefeca said he was pleased with the "link with the building’s past" and he was "pleased that God was still to be honoured on that spot”.[174][175][151][164][176]
Fr. Healey was a popular figure around town. He always had time to stop and talk, especially when walking his dog. He was a regular at the nearby Indian restaurant - he would have approved of Fr. Jimmy's annual curry night. Parishioner Des Madigan, recounts that Fr. Healey said he would "like to die with his boots on". He did, having to be carried from the altar in 1984, and dying soon after. Fr. Healey carved his name into the history of Hay-on-Wye, a revered and much loved character by the parishioners and the people of Hay-on-Wye.[151][164] One of Fr. Healey's more eccentric parishioners also carved her name into the history of Hay-on-Wye. The author Lady Penelope Betjeman (wife of the Poet Laureate John Betjeman) would often "come into town on her pony and trap, wearing a chunky knitted jumper and jodphurs".[19]
The St. Joseph's Church choir were formed in the 1970s. The first organist was Des Madigan who was renowned for playing the organ loudly. Consequently, the choir were renowned for singly loudly, aka 'the Jumpers'. Later his wife Gloria took over as organist. They both gave piano lessons to local children including local pianist Anna Fry.[127][177][178] Recent choir members descended from Thomas and Edith Madigan include (alto) Dawn Beethan and (organist) Julie O’Reilly.[4][84][151]
The old Presbytery was later sold, in order to purchase the new Presbytery adjoining the church in 1985. Parish Priest Fr. Patrick Murray, lived in a small flat in Oxford Rd. for a few months until the purchase was completed.[96] Canon Clyde Johnson prompted Bishop James Hannigan to purchase the house which was to become the new Presbytery, "bringing great joy and encouragement to the parishioners". The Presbytery was also used as a parish centre, important in a town with small capacity social venues. Additional Masses were celebrated in the house for ad-hoc family events. The house and the spacious gardens were used for parish social events.[96] The house flanking the new Presbytery was previously owned by John Grant (the grandson of Henry Richard Grant). The house on the other side of the Church was owned by another Roman Catholic, Mrs Rose Jones. The house that became new Presbytery was built in 1938 by Mr John Watkins of MiddleWood for Mr Ralph Jones, brother-in-law of Rose. The cluster of buildings was affectionally dubbed by Rose as 'Vatican City'.[96]
The garden outside the church dedicated to Our Lady, was created by retired teacher Maggie Sims (British Empire Medal) during a COVID lockdown[186] c.f. on the right in the top right-hand image. Hard landscaping was provided by John Darlison.
In the 1990's, Pat Hammond took over as organist, and formed an ecumenical choir called the 'Holy Joes'. Decades later she still leads the choir, which support and encourage the congregation to sing at Mass. The 'Holy Joes' also participate in other local events.[187][188]
In 2024, artistically talented parishioner Petro Birov[190][191] and Christina Watson[192] exhibited their exemplary religious icons in St. Johns Chapel in Hay-on-Wye.
In 2028, 200 years will have elapsed of Christian worship and "honouring God" in the Belmont Rd. Chapels and Church.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet" - Psalm 119:105Praise the Lord! Alleluia.
The interior curved roof is one of the few original Presbyterian architectural features following the refurbishment in 1967.[193][194][58] The curved roof is wagon-headed, where all the principal ribs are exposed and were originally varnished.[58]
The abstract coloured window glazing is thought to be the work of the Architects F.R. Bates, Son & Price of Newport.[194] The pews in use today were purchased in 1967. At the start of the new millennium, the windows either side of the chancel had deteriorated and had to be replaced with new window frames and stained glass. John Darlison ensured that the work was in keeping with the Hay conservation area requirements. Another parishioner salvaged some of the original stained glass windows from a skip, repurposing some of the stained glass windows. The two large stained glass windows at the back of the church date to the 1967 refurbishment.
In the late 1990s, Fr. Tim Maloney commissioned a bespoke set of Stations of the Cross. Local Stonemason Caitriona Cartwright carved the Stations of the Cross using stone from local quarries. The text font was inspired by the letter cutting of 18th-century headstones. Her other works includes a Baptismal font in a Wiltshire church.[195][196]
Presbyterian Chapel in Belmont Rd (1932)-National Monuments Record of Wales: 6370888 - WPW038162St. Joseph's today with small parishioner car parks in front of the church and presbytery
The church building is within the Hay Conservation area, but is not Grade II listed.[197][198] The conservation area includes the entire medieval town of Hay-on-Wye.[199]
Due to its heritage, the church is not orientated traditionally i.e. towards the east. The altar faces towards the west and the entrance towards the east. The 1878 architecture was based on the Classical and the 13th-century Gothic style of the gable entry type.[200][133] The wall along the nave on the left side (looking from Belmont Rd.) terminates with a stepped buttress carried up into a pinnacle.[58] The tower above the entrance has deep jambs and sunk heads. Above the doorway is a belfry and a 40 feet tall cornice.
The pitched roof is covered in Welsh slate and local stone was used for the rock-face stone front wall (looking from Belmont Rd.). The front walls being square random with dressings of Grinshill and Ruabon stone.
The front has one large triple-light window, and one single window with plated tracery in the heads. The gabled front central pointed window has three simply moulded lights with three hexagons in the tracery. To its left is a single pointed window (looking from Belmont Rd.) with a straight head to the main light and a hexagon in the tracery.
Architect Richard Owen's church designs often included a spire and an upper seating area. Historical documentation states that the 1872 chapel included a framed and slated spire 20 feet high c.f. St. David's.[201][194] The unsafe spire was removed when the Church was repurposed in 1967. Original Methodist architectural documents state that the chapel measuring 41 feet by 30 feet and was designed to accommodate a congregation of nearly 260 i.e. 5 square feet per person. If the claim was valid, it suggests that there might have been an upper seating area c.f. Aberystwyth.[202][58]
Lady Penelope Betjeman (née Chetwode) (1910–1986), Roman Catholic who lived in Cusop Hill overlooking Hay-on-Wye.[213] English travel writer (and wife of Sir John Betjeman, the Poet Laureate).[22] Penelope was influenced to become a Roman Catholic by Evelyn Waugh.[214]
Dr Thérèse Coffey (born 1971), Roman Catholic, former MP and visitor to St. Joseph's Church.[215]
Hay-on-Wye & Cusop War Memorial - Henry Norman Grant - RIPBridget Gubbins (née Ashton) (born 1947), grew up in Hay-on-Wye. She and her family attended St Josephs Church over the Cheese Market. Bridget authored books on social history, travel writing and her memoirs "Hay before the bookshops or the Beeman's family".[21][217][141][138]
Henry Norman Grant (1892–1916), eldest son of Henry Richard and Victoria Grant was declared missing in action on the first day of the Somme offensive. It was more than a year before his death was confirmed.[104][105][108][106]
Hay-on-Wye & Cusop War Memorial - Rhys Pryddererch - RIPGoalkeeper Leigh Roose - RIPRhys Thomas Pryddererch (or Prytherch) BA, BD (1883-1917). Calvinistic Methodist minister. He volunteered for the infantry in 1914 but was rejected on medical grounds. He declined a commission as an Army Chaplain. On his fifth attempt he was accepted as a Private in the King's Regiment (Liverpool). He died on the Western Front in World War I.[71][72][73]
Welcome to St. Joseph's Church, Belmont Rd, Hay-on-Wye
St. Joseph's porch and entrance
Liturgy of the Eucharist - Taking, Thanking, Breaking, Giving.
Liturgy of the Word - The word of God, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The sanctuary lamp, is placed before the tabernacle as a sign of Jesus’ presence within
'The Holy Joes' - "Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy"- Acts 2:46
"To whom shall we go? You have the words of Eternal Life" - John 6:68-69
Christmas nativity tableau created by Norman Keylock (and family)
11th Station of the Cross - Jesus promises his Kingdom to the repentant thief - Luke 23: 39–43
Easter tableau created by Norman Keylock (and family)
“Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit." - Matthew 1:20
"My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour. He looks on his servant in her lowliness; henceforth all ages will call be blessed" - Luke 1:46-47
Prayer means ".. a cry of grateful love from the crest of joy or the through of despair.." - St. Therese of Lisieux
"Christ of compassion, you enable us to be in communion with those who have gone before us" - Brother Roger of Taize (RIP)
The sower - Matthew 13:23
Madonna and Child
Petro's Ukrainian family are a blessing to our community
Lockdown garden created by Maggie Sims BEM
Lockdown garden is dedicated to Our Lady
"One is nearer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth" - Dorothy Frances Blomfield
Lockdown garden
Lockdown garden
Roses and Hollyhocks flower bed
1st Sunday of Advent 2024: New Liturgical year, new Lectionary & new Altar Server: Dan