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Four Inscribed Stones in Church is an early medieval monument comprising four inscribed stones now housed within a church in Wales. The stones preserve inscriptions from the early Christian period, when carved memorial and marker stones formed a significant part of monumental practice across Wales and western Britain. Such inscribed stones typically commemorated individuals of status and served both spiritual and social functions within emerging Christian communities.
The stones rest upon bedrock of Llandovery formation, a sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Llandovery period of the Silurian era, some 440 million years ago. This geology underlies much of central Wales and would have been familiar to the communities who created and erected these monuments in the early medieval period.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage organisation, under reference CD047. The gathering of these four inscribed stones within the church represents a common preservation practice, wherein fragmentary and weathered examples have been collected and safeguarded to ensure their survival. Such assemblages provide valuable evidence of early medieval commemorative practices and linguistic patterns across Wales during the transition from Roman to medieval Britain.
Four Inscribed Stones in Church is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD047. View the official record →
Four Inscribed Stones in Church is an early medieval monument comprising four inscribed stones now housed within a church in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CD047.
Four Inscribed Stones in Church dates from the early medieval period, and is classified as a inscribed stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Four Inscribed Stones in Church is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is CD047.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Moelfryn Round Cairn (5.8 km), Craig Twrch round cairn (6.2 km), Round Cairns c. 400m SE of Lan Fawr (6.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Four Inscribed Stones in Church's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Four Inscribed Stones in Church stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.