Church of St Mary the Virgin | |
---|---|
Location | Monmouth, Monmouthshire |
Country | Wales |
Denomination | Church in Wales |
History | |
Status | Inactive |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade I listed building |
Designated | 9 January 1956 |
Years built | late 13th/early 14th century |
Closed | 1989 |
Administration | |
Diocese | Monmouth |
St Mary the Virgin is the former parish church for Llanfair Kilgeddin, near Usk in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is a Grade I listed building, notable for its significant Arts and Crafts interior. The church was declared redundant in the 1980s and is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
The church is located on farmland close to the river, about 1 mile north of the village. It was originally medieval but was rebuilt in 1875–76 by the architect John Dando Sedding, [1] commissioned by the local rector, Rev. William John Coussmaker Lindsay (1832–1912). The church contains some mediaeval features including a font, but is best known for its Arts and Crafts style sgraffito decorations which cover the interior walls. [2] These were commissioned by Lindsay at a cost of £500 in memory of his wife Rosamund, and were designed by Heywood Sumner. [3] Taking the Benedicite as his theme, Sumner used thin layers of different coloured plaster cut back to reveal colour underneath. His designs included local features, including the River Usk, the Sugar Loaf and nearby Llanvihangel Gobion church tower. [4] Sumner's work was completed in 1888. [5]
In the 1980s, the church was declared redundant and threatened with demolition. [4] It was vested in the charity the Friends of Friendless Churches in 1989, and the charity has held the freehold since 22 November 1989. [3] The charity was supported by the Victorian Society and received financial support from Cadw and the Pilgrim Trust. [4] The graveyard contains a private burial ground dedicated to members of the family of Richard Crawshay, and his nephew, Crawshay Bailey, the ironmasters of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks who had a house nearby, Maindiff Court, Abergavenny. [3] The wall paintings were restored in 2006–07 in memory of Roy Jenkins. [6] The architectural historian John Newman wrote of Sumner's decoration; "it should make Llanfair Kilgeddin a place of pilgrimage for disciples of the Arts and Crafts movement". [5] The Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building. [7]
Friends of Friendless Churches (FoFC) is a registered charity formed in 1957, active in England and Wales, which campaigns for and rescues redundant historic places of worship threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. As of April 2021, the charity owns 58 redundant churches or chapels, 29 of which are in England, and 29 in Wales.
Llanvair Discoed is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, 6 miles west of Chepstow and 10 miles east of Newport.
Llanover is a village in the community of Goetre Fawr in Monmouthshire, Wales.
Llangwm is a small rural village and former community, now in the community of Llantrisant Fawr, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Usk, on the B4235 Chepstow to Usk road. The main village is at Llangwm Uchaf, with a smaller and more dispersed settlement about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north-east at Llangwm Isaf .The other settlement in the community is Llansoy. In 2022 the community was abolished and merged with Llantrisant Fawr.
Llanfair Kilgeddin is a small village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, lying within the administrative community of Llanover. It is located four miles north west of Usk and six miles south east of Abergavenny on the B4598 road. The River Usk passes close by.
St Beuno's Church, Penmorfa, is a redundant church near the settlement of Penmorfa, some 2 miles (3 km) to the northwest of Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
St Mary's Church, Tal-y-llyn is a medieval church near Aberffraw in Anglesey, north Wales. It was originally a chapel of ease for the parish church of St Peulan's, Llanbeulan, but the township that it once served, Tal-y-llyn, no longer exists. It was declared a redundant church in the early 1990s, and has been in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches since 1999. Services are held once per month during part of the year.
St Mary's Church, Derwen, is a redundant church in the centre of the village of Derwen, Denbighshire, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. The churchyard contains Derwen Cross, an important medieval sculpture, which is listed at Grade II* and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
St Odoceus' Church, Llandawke, is a redundant church situated in a hollow near the road between Llandawke and Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade II listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
St Michael and All Angels Church, Llanfihangel Rogiet, is a redundant church in the hamlet of Llanfihangel Rogiet near the village of Rogiet, Monmouthshire, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade II* listed building and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. The church stands in a rural site between two farms, is near the Paddington-Swansea railway line, and close to the intersection of the M4 and M48 motorways. It can be approached only through a private farmyard.
The Old Church of St Afran, St Ieuan and St Sannan, Llantrisant, is a redundant church in the settlement of Llantrisant, Anglesey, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. It is set in an isolated location off a country road and is adjacent to a farmstead.
St Mary's Church, Penllech, is a redundant church in the village of Penllech, Gwynedd, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. It stands adjacent to a farmyard in the Lleyn Peninsula and is on the old pilgrims' route to Bardsey Island.
St David's Church, Llangeview, is a redundant church sited in a round churchyard adjacent to the junction of the A449 and A472 roads 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of the town of Usk in Monmouthshire, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. It is Grade I listed because of its "exceptional interior" including a 15th-century rood-loft and "rare pre-Victorian box pews and fittings". The church stands in a churchyard that is almost circular, and is surrounded by a bank and the traces of a ditch.
St Andrew's Church, Bayvil, is a redundant church standing in an isolated position in the hamlet of Bayvil, some 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the northeast of Nevern, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. It is listed Grade II* because it is "a scarce rural example of an unaltered Anglican church of its date".
St Mark's Church, Brithdir, is a redundant church in the hamlet of Brithdir, Gwynedd, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. It is considered to be one of the finest Arts and Crafts churches in Wales.
Cefntilla Court,, Llandenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a country house dating from the mid-19th century. Its origins date from 1616. During the English Civil War, the court was the headquarters of Thomas Fairfax during the siege of Raglan Castle and the terms of the castle's surrender were signed at the house in 1646. By the early 19th century, the court was derelict. In 1856 it was sold by Crawshay Bailey to the Memorial Committee established to commemorate the life of FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, British commander during the Crimean War. The house was completely rebuilt by Thomas Henry Wyatt and donated to Lord Raglan's heir, Richard Somerset as a memorial to his father. The house is a Grade II* listed building.
Monmouthshire is a county and principal area of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".
Pant-y-Goitre Bridge crosses the River Usk between Abergavenny and Usk near the village of Llanfair Kilgeddin. The bridge carries the B4598. It was constructed in 1821 by the engineer John Upton.
The Church of St Jerome stands in the settlement of Llangwm Uchaf, (upper) Llangwm, in a remote part of Monmouthshire, Wales. Originally constructed in the twelfth century, in an Early English style, it was heavily restored in the nineteenth century. The church has a "large and unusual" tower, an "outstanding" late medieval rood screen and Victorian interior fittings of "exceptional quality". After being declared redundant by the Church in Wales, the church is now administered by the Friends of Friendless Churches. It was designated a Grade I listed building on 19 August 1955.
The Church of St Cadoc, Llangattock Vibon Avel, Monmouthshire is a parish church of medieval origins which was heavily restored in the 19th century. The estate church of The Hendre, it is closely connected with the Rolls family and the grave of Charles Stewart Rolls, the motoring and aviation pioneer, is located in the churchyard. The church is a Grade II* listed building and is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.