Church's last 13th Century Welsh plygain carol service
- Published
It was a full church for the very last "Plygain Fawr" carol service
It is a tradition dating back to the 13th Century - but the very last "Plygain Fawr" service has been held in a mid Wales church.
The Church of St Michael in Llanfihangel yng Ngwynfa, Powys, is being forced to close due to the condition of its building.
It has bowed out with one final festival of unique plygain songs on Sunday evening.
The informal carols are sung unaccompanied and in close harmony.
Traditionally, they would have been sung in the early hours of Christmas Day, only stopping at dawn, before a day of feasting and drinking began.
The services used to be held across Wales, but are now mostly confined to the Montgomeryshire area of Powys.
Glyn Evans, who was the reader at the church, said he was hopeful the "tradition will continue".
"It has been held for so long now, I know it's mentioned in Llyfr Goch Hergest (Red Book of Hergest, external) back in the 13th Century even," he said.
"I suppose it's an end of a tradition, with it not being held in the church from now on. But, the plygain tradition will continue. It's held in other areas across the county, not just in Montgomeryshire, there's also one in Shropshire."
The church is the last resting place for one of Wales' best known female hymn writers - Ann Griffiths
Eleri Rogers, who was brought up locally but now lives in Cardiff, made it back for the last service.
"I felt it was important to come tonight. It's such a shame that this event - that's of historical importance - will end in the village tonight. It's a huge loss," she said.
St Michael's is now closing for good
A spokesman for the Diocese of St Asaph said the decision to close the church had been made by the community after it became clear that the costs of repairing the building were too much.
"The diocese understands that closing a church is a difficult decision for any community and we extend our support to all those affected," he said.