Welsh Journals

PENNANT MELANGELL PART 4 Excavation and Recording at Pennant Melangell Church W. J. Britnell1 with contributions by A.E. CASELDINE, P. COURTNEY, P.Q. DRESSER, A. GIBSON and J.I. McKjnley INTRODUCTION Archaeological excavation and recording was undertaken intermittently in and around the church between 1989-94 during the course of repairs and reordering. Much new information has come to light, and as a result, the history of the church outlined in the paper by Radford and Hemp published in Archaeologia Cambrensis in 19592 can now be substantially revised. This report attempts to integrate this new evidence with the observations recorded by Robert Heaton during excavations within the Cell-y-Bedd in 1958,3 and unpublished recording work undertaken by Antur Tanat Cain in 1987 when areas of topsoil in the churchyard to the north and east of the church were stripped. The report provides details of some of the evidence about the structural history of the church which is discussed and summarised in Part 5. The progress of the excavation and recording work undertaken during the course of the building works was as follows. A strip along the exterior of the north wall of the chancel and nave was excavated in response to proposals to alleviate rising damp in the walls of this part of the church. The opportunity was also taken at this time to record the north elevation of the church in order that the building sequence evident in the standing walls could be related to the evidence from the footings recorded below ground level. Limited recording of the Cell-y-Bedd was undertaken after a start had been made to demolish it. Afterwards, the external elevation of the east wall of the chancel was recorded following the discovery of a blocked archway, and the area beneath the Cell-y-Bedd was excavated before the foundations for the new apse were laid. Limited excavations were then undertaken in the chancel and eastern part of the nave following the removal of timber boarding, before reflooring and before new steps leading into the apse were built. The internal elevation of the chancel was recorded after the north jamb of the blocked archway had been rebuilt as a matter of urgency because of concerns about the instability of this part of the structure. The archway was recorded and the area beneath it was excavated after it had been unblocked. Limited excavations were undertaken and a watching brief was maintained during the construction of soakaways and associated pipe-trenches for surface water in parts of the churchyard to the north of the church. Trial work within the chancel and nave showed that due to a build up of material inside the church only limited disturbance would be made to buried archaeological deposits by reflooring and total excavation of the 'The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, 7a Church Street, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 7DL. "C.A.R. Radford & W.J. Hemp, Pennant Melangell: the church and the shrine, Archaeologia Cambrensis 108 (1959), 81- 113. RB. Heaton, Report on excavations below the floor of the Cell y Bedd in September, 1958, in ibid. 105-8.