Rhydycroesau

Rhydycroesau is a tiny village on the English-Welsh border, 3.25 miles (5.23 km) west of Oswestry on the B4580 road. It lies partly in the Shropshire parish of Oswestry Rural; the other part is in Montgomeryshire, Powys.

Rhydycroesau
Christ Church, Rhydycroesau
Rhydycroesau Location within Shropshire
OS grid reference	SJ240308
Civil parish	Oswestry Rural
Principal area	Powys
Unitary authority	Shropshire
Preserved county	Montgomeryshire
Ceremonial county	Shropshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OSWESTRY
Postcode district	SY10
Dialling code	01691
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Shropshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	North Shropshire
List of places UK England Shropshire 52.869°N 3.128°W / 52.869; -3.128

History

Rhydycroesau is an old Welsh village in the Welsh Marches. Archaeological research has found evidence of Roman and early Anglo-Saxon settlements within 10 km of the modern village.^[1] The name is Welsh, meaning Ford of the Crosses.^[2]

19th century

The former Rectory was built in 1840 from the local stone for £1,260, which included constructing the church and village school, now the village hall, into the bargain. The church is in Wales, and the rectory is in England, the only such instance in modern times.^{[citation needed]}

The first Rector was the Reverend Robert Williams, appointed in 1837. A native of Conwy, where his father was the Vicar, he was educated at Christ Church, Oxford (MA). He was a renowned scholar of his time, who wrote the Biography of Eminent Welshmen and the Cornish Dictionary.^[3] In 1835, whilst curate of Llangernyw, he published The History and Antiquities of the town of Aberconwy. In 1879, Reverend Williams left to become the Rector of Culmington, near Ludlow, where he died in 1881.

He was described as "ponderous and pedantic, big and burly, waddling as he walked with three or four pupils at his heels." One of his favourite sayings was that "a goose is a very awkward bird, being a little too much for one, but not enough for two." The 1861 census lists two sisters, a dairymaid, a housemaid, and two farm servants in his household; he was said to be a dull preacher who reused sermons in a monotone and “maintained a congregation of as many as a dozen worshippers.”^[4]

Two more vicars followed: the Reverend Richard Richardson-Jones (1879–1908) and the Reverend William Arthur Morris (until 1949), who “both proved more popular with the burgeoning congregation.”^[5]

20th century

In 1920, the Church in Wales was disestablished, and a referendum was held in the village to decide if the Church should go to the Church of England or the Church in Wales. The vote was in favour of the Church of England, and so it is to this day, one of the few Church of England churches situated in Wales. The church continues to hold regular services.

In 1951, the church sold the Rectory into private hands; it was bought by a dentist and his family. According to first-hand accounts recorded by later owners, the house was “always cold and almost totally without carpets. Water was pumped from a well and up to five fires had to be laid and lit each morning to provide any warmth at all. The place was, at times, in a state of near collapse.”^[6]

It was not until 1981 that the then-owners opened the Rectory to the public, first as a restaurant and subsequently as a hotel.^[7]

Village school / village hall

The former village school was built in 1840, contemporaneously with the church and rectory.^[8] It now serves as the village hall. The main part of the current hall building is dated 1850, as indicated by an inscription on the building (captured in a photograph held on Geograph).^[9] Records from 2009 note that the village hall received an installation grant for an entrance porch, suggesting renovation or extension activities were completed around that time.^[10]

Etymology

The name Rhydycroesau derives from Welsh rhyd y croesau, meaning "ford of the crosses".^[11]

Governance

The settlement falls partly within the civil parish of Oswestry Rural (Shropshire). The parish is divided into five wards, including the Rhydycroesau with Llanforda ward (197 electors on the 2016 register).^[12]

Religion

Christ Church, Rhydycroesau is a Church of England church in the Diocese of Lichfield (Archdeaconry of Salop; Deanery of Oswestry).^[13] Regular Holy Communion services are held on the second and fourth Sundays of each month.^[14]

Community facilities

The village hall hosts local groups and events (e.g., gardening club and community activities) and serves the surrounding rural area.^[15]

Notable buildings

The former rectory (c. 1840) now operates as the Pen-y-Dyffryn Country Hotel near the village; independent inspection notes record the property’s origins as a rectory around that date.^[16]

Notable people

• Robert Williams (1810–1881), Anglican cleric and Celtic scholar (author of Lexicon Cornu-Britannicum), served as perpetual curate of Rhydycroesau from 1838 to 1879.^[17][18]

Walking

Sections of the National Trail Offa’s Dyke Path run close to Rhydycroesau; some route guides list a stage starting from the village area.^[19][20]

Pantomime

Rhydycroesau Village Hall, portions built 1850

Rhydycroesau is well known locally for its pantomimes, which are hosted every year in January and February at the Village Hall with a cast of people from the local area.^[21][22] In 2016, the group performed for over 36 years, making a new show each year.^[23]

In literature

Rhydycroesau is the setting for some key action in the medieval mystery novel Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters, the third in her series featuring Brother Cadfael, set in 1138.^[24]