Pilleth is a small village south of Knighton in

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is the site of the ancient

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

and

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...

of St. Mary’s which stands on Bryn Glas Hill overlooking the

River Lugg The River Lugg ( cy, Afon Llugwy) rises near Llangynllo in Radnorshire, Wales. It flows through the border town of Presteigne and then through Herefordshire, England, where it meets its main tributary, the River Arrow, to the south of Leomi ...

, as it makes its way to

Presteigne Presteigne (; cy, Llanandras: the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales on the south bank of the River Lugg. Formerly the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, the town has, in common with ...

Name

The earliest reference to Pilleth is in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086, where it is noted as Pilelei. In the Domesday Book, the settlement is listed within the hundred of Hezetre and the county of Herefordshire. There are various explanations as to the origins of the name:Pilleth
Radnor Forest Valleys Association *Pwll-y-Llethr – translated from Welsh to ''The Pit on the Slope,'' which could refer to the healing well of the church of St. Mary *Pill Lledd – translated to ''The Wide Refuge'' which could refer to a tunnel from the monastery at Monaughty to the well

Well and the church

It is thought by historians that Pilleth has been a place of worship since the foundations of the early Celtic Christian church. People would make

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

s to the holy well, reputed to have healing properties for the

eyes Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and con ...

in particular. The church was much frequented in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, with the current structure dating mainly from the 13th century, the tower from the 14th century, and its single bell from circa 1450. The church was greatly damaged during the 1402 battle, and a fire in 1894 destroyed much of the ancient woodwork, with surviving items transferred to other local churches. As a result of new cottages being built, the village began to grow again in late Victorian times to a population of over 100. In 1909 Edward Whitehead, a London lawyer resident in Nant-y-Groes, engaged Sir Walter Tapper who installed a temporary roof and the stone steps on the southern side. After the sword, breastplate and set of spurs reportedly belonging to Sir John Price were stolen in the 1990s, The Friends of Pilleth was formed to help raise funds for the restoration and ongoing maintenance of St Mary's. A major programme of restoration was undertaken in 2002–2004, partly funded by a grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and with support from the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...

. The church is open for worship, with services usually at 3.00p.m. on the 4th Sunday in summer months.

Battle of Bryn Glas

Pilleth was also the location of one of the most important

battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in Welsh history. On 22 June 1402 during the battle of Battle of Bryn Glas, the Welsh forces of Owain Glyndŵr defeated the English forces of Sir Edmund Mortimer, Lord of the March. the Welsh force went on to sack and burn

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...

. The Battle of Pilleth was subsequently mentioned by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

in Henry IV, Part 1.The Battle of Pilleth
icWales.co.uk - May 5, 2006 In the 19th century four redwood Wellingtonia trees were planted after the discovery of a large burial ground.

References

External links

Friends of Pilleth websiteBBC - A walk along The Glyndŵr Way
{{authority control Villages in Powys Holy wells in Wales Radnorshire