Egyptomania

I’m definitely over-optimistic when I suggest a visit to The Spinnies in search of a kingfisher. Fine drizzle has developed into rain, and so we find ourselves picnicking in a village car park. This is Llandegai, a settlement created by the 1st Baron Penrhyn as a ‘model village’ for his estate workers. It’s in the shadow of the castle walls - its neo-Norman vastness built on fortune gained from sugar, slavery and slate. 

The much older church of St Tegai, approached along an avenue of ancient yews, is currently off limits due to ‘extensive renovations’, so we explore the churchyard. Gravestones stand close together at odd angles, almost toppling; stone chest tombs are collapsing in on themselves or onto each other: like the church, it needs some tender loving care. 

But suddenly we spy something very different: a most impressive slate pyramid. Whilst the slate fits perfectly with its surroundings, the structure is incongruous. 
Approaching closer, we see the sides are heavily inscribed. This is, we later find, a memorial to the Wyatt family - well principally to Benjamin Wyatt, chief agent to the Penrhyn estates for 30 years. He is eulogised in glowing terms:

Distinguished by an Able, Faithful, and Honourable Discharge of
His Stewardship; by that Solidity of Judgement, Strictness of Inegrity,
Modesty of Deportment, Benevolence of Heart, and Complacency
of Temper; which Entitle a Man to Esteem and Reverence,
by that Humility which Marks the True Servant of Christ and by
That Piety which Alone can Sustain the Hope of Everlasting Life.

And why a pyramid? My research shows there are several examples of these strange monuments in churchyards, products of the Egyptomania which gripped the country in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

So no kingfishers today, but some very interesting discoveries!

Thanks to Bobsblips for hosting.