Church of St Basil, Bassaleg

St Basil's Church, Bassaleg
St Basil's Church, Bassaleg Location in Newport
51°34′42″N3°02′39″W / 51.5783°N 3.0442°W / 51.5783; -3.0442
OS grid reference	ST 277 871
Location	Bassaleg, Newport
Country	Wales
Denomination	Church in Wales
Website	St Basil, Bassaleg
History
Status	Active
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	1 March 1963
Architectural type	Church
Specifications
Materials	Stone, slate roof

St Basil's Church stands in the village of Bassaleg, to the west of the city of Newport, Wales. It is an active parish church and a Grade II* listed building. St Basil's sits within the Tredegar Park Ministry Area which covers an area at the west of the city of Newport. ^[1] It also hosts a community choir. ^[2]

History

Cadw dates the church to the 14th century, although it stands on the site of an earlier priory. ^[3] The church was restored between 1878 and 1879 by Habershon and Fawckner and renovated in 1902–03 by Charles Busteed Fowler.

Since the very early 19th century a chapel within the church has been used as mausoleum for the Morgan family, prominent local landowners whose Tredegar House estate lies just to the south; this chapel was rebuilt in 1916 by W. D. Caröe for Courtenay Morgan. ^[3] There is also a Morgan family burial plot in the church graveyard, which was renovated in the 21st century by the Lord Tredegar Memorial Trust. ^[4]

A memorial in the churchyard commemorates Gwyneth Ericka Morgan (1895–c.1924), the daughter of Courtenay Morgan, who is also buried in the plot. Her disappearance in 1924, and the recovery of her body from the River Thames in 1925 was the subject of much speculation. ^[5] Gwyneth was originally buried in London, but was re-interred at St Basil's after her brother, Evan Morgan, succeeded their father as head of the Morgan family in 1934. ^[6] Gwyneth Morgan was the last member of the family to be buried at St Basil's, as her brother and subsequent heads of the family were catholics and buried elsewhere, the last dying in 1962. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Architecture and description

St Basil's is constructed of stone with a slate roof. The church comprises a nave, chancel, porch, an "unusually large" west tower, and the Morgan family chapel to the northeast. ^[3] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales notes the "particularly fine" Morgan monuments dating from 1806 onwards. ^[10] Works include memorials to Maria Morgan by Richard Westmacott, to Sir Charles Morgan, 1st Baronet by Coade & Sealy in their patented Coade stone, and to Sir Charles Morgan, 2nd Baronet by John Evan Thomas. The church also has stained glass by Kempe & Co. St Basil's is a Grade II* listed building. ^[3] The lychgate has its own Grade II listing. ^{[11] [a]} A church hall was constructed in the early 21st century. ^[14]

Gallery

• 
  St Basil's from the south
• 
  Lychgate
• 
  Morgan family burial plot
• 
  Church entrance

References

1. Immediately to the left of the lychgate is the Tredegar Arms public house. This inn was the venue for an annual Balaclava dinner, hosted by Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, who participated in the Charge of the Light Brigade atop his horse, 'Sir Briggs'. ^{[12] [13]}

1. "Tredegar Park Ministry Area". Church in Wales . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
2. Jones, Michae (15 October 2019). "Bassaleg choir is bringing together the community". South Wales Argus . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
3. Cadw. "Church of Saint Basil, Graig, Newport (Grade II*) (2913)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
4. "Lord Tredegar Family Memorials – Repair, Restoration & Cleaning". Summers Memorial Masons. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
5. Channon 2022, Footnote 93.
6. Carradice, Phil (24 February 2010). "Tredegar House and the death of Gwyneth Morgan". BBC Wales . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
7. "Funeral: Viscount Tredegar" . The Telegraph . 3 May 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
8. "Requiem Mass For Peer" . Western Mail & South Wales News. 26 August 1954. p. 7. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
9. "Requiem Mass" . The Daily Telegraph . 23 November 1962. p. 16. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
10. "St Basil's Church, Bassaleg (220349)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
11. Cadw. "Lychgate, churchyard walls and railings to the Church of St Basil (Grade II) (81799)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
12. "The Charge of the Light Brigade, the Battle of Balaclava, 25th October 1854 with Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar (1831 - 1913) astride his Horse, 'Sir Briggs' – Item NT1553541". National Trust . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
13. "Sir Briggs, horse of Lord Tredegar, 17th Lancers, ridden at Balaklava, 1854, in camp in the Crimea, 1854". National Army Museum . Retrieved 16 February 2024.
14. "Bassaleg to get new church hall". South Wales Argus. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2024.

Book

• Channon, Henry (2022). Simon Heffer (ed.). Henry "Chips" Channon - The Diaries: 1943-1957. London: Hutchinson. ISBN   978-1-529-15172-5. OCLC   1338648382.