Beguildy ( cy, Bugeildy) is a village and
community in
Powys, Wales.
It lies in a remote tract of countryside, northwest of
Knighton, on the
B4355 road to
Newtown, near the
headwaters of the
River Teme, at an
elevation of .
The village has a
pub, the Radnorshire Arms, a post office, and a place of worship. Beguildy Church in Wales Primary School closed in 2013.
Toponymy
Beguildy is an anglicization of Bugeildy, which means ''shepherd-house'' in Welsh, from ''bugail'' for shepherd and ''tŷ'' for house.
Community
The large, rural community of Beguildy includes the settlements of Beguildy, Felindre, Dutlas, Lloyney, Heyope and
Knucklas. It falls in the
historic county of
Radnorshire
, HQ = Presteigne
, Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin =
, Status = historic county, administrative county
, Start ...
. An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
in the same name exists. At the 2011 Census this ward had a population of 1,411.
Castle
Beguildy Castle is a
Norman motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
castle of which the well preserved 20 foot high motte and earthworks remain. The village and the castle lie on
the border between
England and
Wales.
Church
The church, which is mainly 14th century, was restored considerably in the 19th century, with the
chancel being rebuilt in 1885 and the
nave restored in 1896 (to the design by
William Radford Bryden
William Radford Bryden (1851 – 16 February 1941) was an English architect and surveyor who designed various prominent Victorian buildings in Buxton, Derbyshire.
Life
Bryden was born in Eccles, Lancashire in 1851. His parents were Willia ...
). The original tower collapsed in the 19th century and bells, which date from 1661 and 1664, were re-hung in their present position in 1936.
The church features a 14th-century
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...
al
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design.
In mod ...
(which reputed to carry marks made by
Cromwell's troops sharpening their swords), a holy water
stoup at the south door and a priests door in the south wall. The
rood screen
The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...
is a fine example of 15th century workmanship and is well preserved, bearing the original coloured
Tudor roses. Probably from the same period are two oak benches. The dug out parish chest, which was reputedly hewn out of a solid block of timber, is an ancient
churchwarden's chest and probably dates form the 13th century. At the end of the chest is an iron ring for use when it was drawn by a horse to be buried or hidden in times of trouble. One part of the chest would have held the church valuables and the other the churchwarden's treasures. Each compartment was locked separately. The church is well endowed with 20th-century
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows. In the porch there are two sculpted heads. They were sculpted as a representative of the vicar when the Church was renovated by a stonemason called James Wear(1837-1913)
Associations
John Dee
John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, teacher, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divinatio ...
has probably been incorrectly associated with Beguildy.
He served at the
court of
Elizabeth I as the
royal tutor in
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
. He later became the Queen's
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to
Poland but is remembered as a distinguished early scientist and astronomer. He was reputedly a descendant of
Rhodri Mawr, King of Wales.
References
{{authority control
Villages in Powys
Communities in Powys
Castles in Powys