Nooks and Corners of PembrokeshireTimmins, H. Thornhill (Henry Thornhill)
History
Nooks and Corners of Pembrokeshire
Timmins, H. Thornhill (Henry Thornhill)
Pembrokeshire (Wales) -- Description and travel
The handsome traceried screen that stretches athwart the narrow chancel
arch was erected about five-and-twenty years ago, when a vigorous effort
was made to arrest the deplorable condition of ruin and decay, to which
time and neglect had reduced this interesting church.
A few ivy-mantled fragments of an ancient structure that formerly served
as the parish school, are supposed to be the remains of a chantry
founded by the De Barri who lies buried in the church.
We now stroll leisurely homeward through the gloaming, while the slender
young moon peers over the shoulder of a neighbouring hill. As we
approach the castle, its shadowy front looms darkly silhouetted upon a
daffodil and emerald sky; while the zenith is still suffused with
translucent rosy light, and the pale stars peep one by one as the
daylight slowly wanes. Now the little flittermice awake once more to
life, and flicker to and fro with wavering flight; while a colony of
chattering jackdaws discusses the day's events upon the ruined
battlements. Yonder, like a thief of the night, a great white owl steals
silently by, soft as a drift of thistledown, yet keen as fate to 'spot'
the errant mouse, roaming in search of a meal too far from home.
Thus we recross the drawbridge to the hospitable abode, whose latticed
windows emit a heartsome ray of light that seems a lode-star to the
wayfarers. Pretty tired after our long day's ramble, we clamber up the
corkscrew stair to a certain turret chamber, where, in next to no time,
we lose ourselves in the drowsy arms of Morpheus.
The busy man, hard pressed by the _Sturm und Drang_ of city life, may
find at Manorbere recreation in the truest sense; and should he be
blessed with a congenial hobby, he may entertain himself in this
secluded spot to his heart's content.
To the lover of Nature the place offers many attractions. In the course
of rambles around the varied coast-line, or amidst the hills and dales
of the inland country, the wanderer with a turn that way may study the
mellow lichen-clad rocks of the Old Red sandstone; and will not fail to
notice their well-defined junction at Skrinkle Haven with the limestone
formation, which reappears across the Sound in the cave-worn crags of
Caldey. Or, again, he may note how the salmon-red ploughlands of the
Ridgeway attest the presence of the older rocks, as they rise from the
superincumbent stratum of the mountain limestone.
These conditions afford, within a limited compass, a great diversity of
soil and situation; providing a congenial habitat to many varieties of
ferns and wild-flowers. The botanist will look for prizes amongst the
rich pastures of the Vale of St. Florence, the woodland paths around St.
Issells, and the lush marshlands of Penally; while the sandy burrows of
Tenby, Lydstep and Castle Martin, and even the crumbling ruins of some
castle or ancient priory, will yield their tale of treasure for the
vasculum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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