Welsh Saints from Welsh Churches A Book By Martin Crampin

‘Welsh Saints from Welsh Churches’ is an exquisite composition over 500 images of depictions of saints, most of which have never been seen before in print from over 250 churches. Through appreciating the individual makers’ work, Crampin tells the stories of forty-four male and female saints through the striking photography of stain glass, sculptures and murals of scenes from folklore.

Crampin says in Chapter 1, “The imagery of saints from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries expresses the importance of Welsh saints to the churches and the people of Wales. These images are a testament to the nineteenthand twentieth-century concept of the ‘Age of Saints’ and the belief that Wales was home to a discernibly different form of Celtic Christianity.”

Crampin has done extensive research from sources across Wales and many centuries to paint a picture of each saint who has shaped Welsh faith.

In an interview he said “The idea of the book is to make this wonderful visual culture available to people and help people realise that it’s there. You find images of saints on book covers everyday but there is nothing about the makers, nothing about the history of the medium, so that’s what I wanted to do. It’s a book about saints but it’s a book about art in our churches as well.”

Welsh Saints with Scenes from the Life of St Elfan, Robert Newbery 1905, Church of St Elvan, Aberdare, north transept window.

St Iltud Teaching St Padarn, St Teilo, St Cadog and St David at Llantwit, Robert Newbery 1912, Church of St Catherine, Pontypridd, north aisle window.