ST MICHAEL, CASCOB, RADNOR
You come to this humble church, near the head of the Cas valley, after driving for several miles along a narrow, hedge-lined road. Remote, with hardly any settlement nearby, it occupies a part-circular churchyard (often a sign of an early church built on a pre-Christian holy site).
The oldest visible part of the building is probably thirteenth century, though the massive walls argue for an early date. The upper parts of both the tower and porch are attractively half-timbered. Like many churches in the Marches, Cascob retains its medieval roodscreen; here, though the loft has gone, the front of the loft has been replaced as a parapet on top of the screen.
More singular, and touching, is the survival of the prayer and incantation used to deliver Elizabeth Loyd towards the end of the seventeenth century: ‘O Lord Jesus Christ we beseech thee for mercy grant that this holy charm ABRACADABRA may cure thy servant Elizabeth Loyd from all Evil Spirites and from all her Desesis. Amen xxx.’
Take your map, and find and enjoy unspoilt little Cascob church. And if you are there at a weekend, don’t forget Sunday Mass at nearby St Andrew, Norton, a FiF parish.
Remember in prayer all those afflicted by disease of the mind, body and soul, and all those who care for them.
Pray: ‘Holy Michael, Archangel; defend us in the day of battle. Be thou our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the enemy.’
Grid reference SO239664