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Description
Photography by John Ball - 10:30 am, 11 Mar 1998 (with Agfa ePhoto307 digital camera)
This church was founded in the sixth century AD by Ciwg, an early Christian hermit, said to be descended from a noble Celtic family. The church is located in what was once a central position for the local rural population, but when industrialisation took place in the Swansea Valley, the church became isolated.
Image 1:
St Ciwg's is situated in a hollow on Barley Hill.
Image 2:
One of the footpaths approaching the church from the west.
Image 3:
Parts of the church tower date from the 13th century. The tower is no longer vertical!
Image 4, 5:
In the east wall of the church (Image 4) is a low-level leper window, constructed to enable "unclean lepers" to watch the priest celebrating communion. The churchyard (Image 5) contains recent graves as well as ancient ones.
Image 6:
The church is on Barley Hill, 210 metres (690 feet) above sea level.
Image 7:
To the west of Barley Hill is Pontardawe golf course.
Image 8:
To the north-east is the Upper Swansea Valley. The flat-topped hill in the centre is Mynydd Allt-y-grug; to the right is Varteg Hill. These 200-metre high plateaux mark what was once the floor of an ancient sea. The U-shaped valley between the two hills was cut by a gigantic glacier during the ice-age.
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