The Church of St Issui,

Partrishow Partrishow, also known as Patricio, Patrishow, or by its Welsh names Merthyr Isw and Llanisw, is a small village and historic parish in the county of Powys (historically Brecknockshire), close to its border with Monmouthshire. It is in the valle ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, Wales, is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

parish church dating from 1060. The existing building was mainly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries and was sensitively restored in 1908–1909. The church is most famous for its

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, o ...

which dates from 1500. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

Issui was an early Welsh

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

who lived by the well next to the site of the church. Following his murder, the well became a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

and the church was founded with the offerings of pilgrims in 1060.

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

is reputed to have preached at the church in 1188 while on his tour of Wales. The church was undamaged during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the dual

altars An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christian ...

being spared by the order of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

in 1550. The church similarly escaped any large-scale

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

reconstruction and was carefully restored by W. D. Caröe in 1908–1909. The church remains an active church in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the Vale of Grwyne.

Architecture and description

The church comprises a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and porch with a separate shrine-chapel to the West. The walls are of

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

and the roofs of slate. The style throughout is Gothic. The wall to the right of the porch has a rare stone bench facing the

preaching cross A preaching cross is a Christian cross sometimes surmounting a pulpit, which is erected outdoors to designate a preaching place. In Great Britain and Ireland, many free-standing upright crosses – or high crosses – were erected. Some of thes ...

in the churchyard. The

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

holds two bells and is a stone replacement by Caröe for the timber original. The nave has a roof of the 16th century. It is windowless to the North, with windows of a Tudor date inserted in the South wall. The wagon roof of the chancel is a replacement by Caröe. The

is the highlight of the interior. In the

volume of ''The Buildings of Wales'' series, the architectural historians Richard Scourfield and Robert Haslam record a description of it as, "the most perfect and elegant now standing in the kingdom". It dates from 1500 and was sensitively restored by Caröe. It stretches the entire width of the nave, and has a frieze of

dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

wyverns The wyvern ( ), sometimes spelled wivern ( ), is a type of mythical dragon with two legs, two wings, and often a pointed tail. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic ...

expectorating

vines A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or wikt:scandent, scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; ...

. The writer

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins FLSW (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust f ...

describes it as "exquisitely wrought". In addition to the rood screen, the church has a significant collection of wall paintings. They comprise four groups: a

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

which the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...

considers are those of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

; two groups of Biblical texts, including the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...

, the

Decalogue The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...

and the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

; and a "Doom Figure" of

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

as a skeleton with an

hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the ...

and spade in his left hand and a

scythe A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...

in his right, which dates from the 17th or 18th century. The church is a

. A number of structures in the vicinity of the church have their own Grade II listings including St Issui's Well, the churchyard cross, the former stable, and the

lych gate A lychgate (from Old English ''līc'', corpse) or resurrection gate is a covered gateway found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. Examples also exist outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the ...

Gallery

The rood screen at Partrishow-Patricio - geograph.org.uk - 1212550.jpg, "The most perfect and elegant rood loft now standing in the kingdom" (Scourfield & Haslam) Dragon on rood screen (2) - geograph.org.uk - 1212598.jpg, Rood screen detail Wall painting at Partrishow (6) - geograph.org.uk - 1213997.jpg, The 'Doom or Death' figure dating from 17/18th century on an interior church wall St. Issui's Church, Partrishow - geograph.org.uk - 2210172.jpg, The

lychgate A lychgate (from Old English ''līc'', corpse) or resurrection gate is a covered gateway found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. Examples also exist outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the ...

with the church behind Partrishow church and cross (cropped).jpg, The preaching cross

Notes

References

* * {{Church in Wales template

History of Powys

Rood screens