Hanmer
Photos St. Mary Magdalene's Church
All photographs were taken in 2007.
It was 1940 when R.S. and his wife moved to the parish of Hanmer, Maelor Saesneg, Flintshire. Hanmer was a really boarder country and had four churches. R.S. took over as the curate of one of them. The place is called Tallern Green.
R.S. served at St. Mary Magdalene's Church lies on the Welsh boarder.
The building is very nice and bigger than the one in Manafon. The church also had a much lager cemetary in its premises. It stands on the main road in the village and a Methodist's chapel lies on the same road.
During the Second World War, he served here. He did fear the destruction occurring almost every night in this border parish. To escape from the fear, he set about learning Welsh "as means of enabling him to return to the true Wales.".
After two years in Hanmer, R.S. and his wife moved to Manafon.
A stature on the outside wall [left] and stained glasses of St. Mary's church
(taken in 2007)
My 2007 travel dairy
One week is too short for travells abroad. Two weeks is better than it. Three weeks? I have no idea. But I give you an idea; if you had a full time job in a Japanese company, when you got to home, you would find yourself fired.
I travelled one month in the summer of 2007. I am lucky since I teach at university; we have more than one month vacation in summer. It was the longest travell for me; I have visited Great Britain every summer since 2000, my fist travel to UK.
Anyway, the start of my 2007 was terrible; my baggage was lost by British Air Ways and it took 4 days for me to get it again! Without extra clothes, batteries for my digital camera, battery chargers, books, maps, and even reading glasses (I had to buy new ones in Chester, England), I had to travel alone.
One of my purpose of this year is to visit Eisteddfod for the first time. I stayed at a B&B in Mold, because the venue was in Flintshire (Eisteddfod is held in the differnt places every year. It was held there in 2007 and it will be in Cardiff in 2008. Check Eisteddfod's official site for the further information.) There was real Wales! Eveybody speaks Welsh and everything was done mainly through the language. It was splendid
experiences, although I could not visit it only on two days, the half of my fisrt plan, because of the trouble.
After enjoying the Eisteddfod and getting my baggage again, I checked out the B&B and headded for Tallarn Green by car by myself. While driving it rained. Sometimes it rained so heavy that I could not find anyone to ask which direction I should take....
When I got there, however, it became fine! It was a lucky signal for my rest three weeks in UK and Ireland. Yes! However, although it was Sunday, the church remained still .... What happened?
After taking some photos, I knocked the house next to it. A kind owner of it explained why; the church had been sold and closed the last week.
Yet a service was held in the chaple near the church. The service was nearly over and I entered it -- and I was introduced a holder of the church's key by the chapel goers and he invited me to the inside of the church. The church remained still. I could take some photographs. I was really lucky.
Information about the place
Tallern Green is much nearer to the English boarder than Halton. And both the church and the chapel stand on the same main road of the village.
The St. Mary Magdalene's church was built in 1872 and opened by the Bishop of St. Asaph on 22 October 1873. Its clock tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1888. RST was the 13th priest-in-charge in its history. However, unfortunately, this building was sold in September 2007.
Click on the map or the place name on the left. Or...
Manafon
R.S.Thomas, priest and poet
Text and photos (otherwise noticed)
by Yoshifum! Nagata
(c)&(p)Yoshifum! Nagata
Click, if there is not a frame on the left. Thank you.
