With its enormous and imposing central tower, Tewkesbury Abbey is a Norman church built on a cathedral scale.
Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
The sheer size of the building is further emphasised by the west end, which is entirely made up of a huge arch that rises to the full height of the nave. The look and feel of grandeur is continued inside, where giant pillars soar up to the roof.
The abbey was founded by Robert Fitzhamon, one of William the Conqueror's, most powerful barons, and was built between 1102 and 1121. Other Norman lords and their dynasties are connected with the abbey, and many of them are buried here.
The only major changes to the Norman structure were made in the 14th century, when the vaulted roofs were inserted, and when Lady Eleanor le Despenser, widow of one of England's most influential lords, transformed parts of the building to become, in part, a shrine to her husband and her family. So, in the chapels around the choir, are buried her husband (Hugh le Despenser), her ancestor, Robert Fitzhamon, and her son and his wife.
Many other hugely important participants in the wars, feuds and politics of the Middles Ages are buried here, including Edward, Prince of Wales, the only son of Henry VI. Glittering down on all this is some of the finest medieval stained glass in England, much of it dating from Eleanor's time.
Petrisw, Powys
Cyrhaeddir yr eglwys hon trwy deithio naill ai ar hyd lonydd troellog sy’n gyforiog o flodau, neu ar hyd llwybr troed. Wrth gyrraedd, fe welwch yr eglwys ganoloesol hon yn sefyll ar lethrau’r Grwyne Fawr, yn edrych heibio cwm bychan at lethrau Mynydd Pen-y-Fâl yr ochr draw.
Capel y Ffin, Powys
Lleolir eglwys Sant Mair, Capel y Ffin yn nyffryn cudd yr afon Honddu, gyda’r Mynyddoedd Du i’r gorllewin iddi a Chlawdd Offa i’r dwyrain. Mae’n fan lle mae celfyddyd a thirwedd yn ymdoddi i’w gilydd – ac nid yw’n syndod felly iddi ddenu arlunwyr a beirdd am ganrifoedd.
Hen Faesyfed, Powys
Er iddi gael ei llosgi yn ystod Gwrthryfel Glyndŵr yn 1401, mae gan Eglwys Sant Steffan hanes cystal ag unrhyw gastell, gyda chroglen ganoloesol brin ac organ a all fod yr hynaf yn y DU.
