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Description
Photography by John Ball - 31 August 2000 (with a Sony Mavica MVC-FD91 digital camera)
This old house on Newcastle Hill, Bridgend, once known as "Church House", is now commonly known as the "St John's Hospice". It is one of the oldest buildings in the district and was possibly once used as a hospice, offering food and shelter to travellers. The structure is mainly 15th century, possibly dating from circa 1425, but some lower parts are believed to be older. In 1920 it was acquired by the Priory for Wales of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. In October 2000, the future of St John's Hospice lay in the hands of the Civic Trust for Wales and CADW (Welsh Historic Monuments).
Image 1:
St John's Hospice on Newcastle Hill.
Image 2:
Oak beams supporting the roof in one of the attics recently made habitable.
Image 3:
Ceiling joists supporting one of the upper floors. Some of the beams have had to be replaced owing to rot.
Image 4:
This close-up shows signs of rot and woodworm infestation.
Image 5:
This view of a window illustrates the thickness of the old stone walls.
In 1934 an ancient Celtic bell was discovered buried in rubble in the lower part of the house. It is possible the bell was from the parish church of St Leonard, which preceded the present church of St Illtud, the mother church of the parish of Newcastle, Bridgend. St Illtud's is less than 100 yards away, at the top of Newcastle Hill. The bell may have been hidden in the hospice when the church and castle were attacked. The bell has now been removed to the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, where it can still be seen.
Image 6, 7:
Two of the steep and winding staircases connecting the different floor levels.
Image 8:
A general view of one of the spacious first-floor rooms. Several rooms still possess their original inglenook fireplaces.
Image 9:
Massive fireplace in a ground-floor room. Note the herring-bone pattern of bricks at the back of the fireplace.
Image 10:
The ground floor passageway linking the rooms.
On the wall are mounted two medieval carved stone tablets which were originally on an outside wall but were brought inside for safety (see below for further details)
Image 11, 12:
The two medieval stone plaques. The one on the left features the sacred monogram IHS (Iesus Hominum Salvator - Jesus Saviour of Man) often seen on tombstones; the other (right) features an eagle and a Maltese cross. These emblems were the heraldic devices of the Knight's Hospitallers of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.
The Newcastle Hill Hospice Project Ltd
The St John's Hospice is regarded by some experts as the best preserved mediaeval town house in South Wales.
The aim of the Newcastle Hill Hospice Project was to save this historic building for use by the people of Bridgend. When I visited in October 2000, the viability of a number of ideas was being investigated and the Project organisers were welcoming approaches from anyone who was interested and wished to support or get involved in the project.
Further details are available from Huw Morris at [email protected] (Aug 2012 address).
Acknowledgement
Many thanks to Huw Morris for allowing me access to St John's Hospice in order to take photographs, and for spending time explaining the history of the building to me.
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