St Ellyw’s, Llanelieu, Powys – a long overdue return to my photographic passion.
It was a dull early winter’s day as I stepped inside. I looked around and slowly my eyes began to adjust to what at first seemed a very gloomy, cold interior. Slowly the church revealed itself to me, as the light of day penetrated 13th century sandstone rubble walls through the deep arched medieval window openings. The remote setting, the ancient churchyard and the surrounding Black Mountains of the Brecon Beacons all contributed to the atmosphere of this small historical place of worship. Almost instantly I am taken back in time and can only wonder whose feet have crossed the threshold in all the centuries past?
This is the church of St Ellyw’s in Llanelieu, Powys in Wales. It is now cared for by the ‘Friends of Friendless Churches’. On their website it states that “St Ellyw was a princess martyr of the 5th century and according to legend, she was murdered close to Llanelieu by a rejected suiter who refused to accept her vow of chastity”.
A good many years ago I began a project which has no end. I started to photograph church interiors which eventually inspired me to submit a successful panel of images for my Associateship of the The Royal Photographic Society. Whilst the appeal of this project has never been lost it has been on the back burner for quite a long time. Whilst on holiday in the Brecon Beacons towards the end of last year, I made a special effort to visit and photograph this church which was of particular interest to me. It revived my love of not just photographing these places but experiencing their atmosphere and quiet solitude.
I have always been drawn to remote churches in the countryside. Small buildings which are being preserved but not necessarily used for regular worship. There are a number of other similar churches in the near vicinity of St Ellyw’s, so a short break to this part of Wales specifically to visit these churches is definitely on the cards. Until then there are others closer to home which I have listed, one of which I visited quite recently and I will be posting some images very soon.
alan frost photography 
4 Responses to “St Ellyw’s, Llanelieu, Powys – a long overdue return to my photographic passion.”
Lovely set of photos Alan. I also like to photograph old churches but usually produce coloured photos. Having looked at you photos I quite like the use of B&W as it adds to the feeling of what you can find in an old church.
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Thank you Paul. Good luck trying churches in mono.
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Nice work. I found your site when googling for examples of ARPS statements of intent. I’m glad I did.
I have my own long term project, to photograph every round tower church of East Anglia (and the handful outside) in B&W infrared.
Best
David
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Thank you David. Good luck with your project, sounds very interesting. I am continuing to photograph redundant churches but this now involves more travelling so requires greater planning. Thanks too for following. Do you have your own site?
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