St Tysoi, Llansoy

Llansoy lies in the area of rich farmland between the Usk and the Wye. Its attractive little church, built of red sandstone with a stone tiled roof, is the only known dedication to St Tysoi or Tissoi. 

The date of foundation is unknown, but Tysoi is believed to have been a pupil of St Dyfrig, first Bishop of Llandaff. After the Norman conquest, 'Llandesoe' is listed as being part of the Lordship of Usk, and a rector is recorded here in the 14th century. The current churchyard takes up half of the original oval monastic settlement or "llan".

Although the church has one doorway (between the tower and nave) of 13th/14th century date, most of the fabric dates 15th century, including the nave and the small chancel (both with original barrel-vaulted roofs). There was originally a rood screen and loft, the stairs to which can still be seen.  The low, crenellated tower is later, replacing a wooden belfry in the 17th Century. The church was restored sympathetically in the mid-19th century, and, with the exception of the 18th century altar-rails, the furnishings all date from this period. 

The interior is whitewashed, except for the words "This is the Gate of Heaven" painted above the chancel arch. One of the south nave windows has some brightly coloured late 20th Century glass, depicting the earth, moon and sun, above a rainbow with a dove: jolly or jarring, depending on your point of view!

The church is of particular interest to me, as it is one of the few where my forebears have identifiable graves: my Great-great-great grandmother Ann was one of the Jenkins family, who were farmers in the parish for over 150 years, and a number of their extensive family (including her parents) are buried here. Ann had 14 siblings, some of whom never married and remained working the farm throughout the 19th Century. Her father, the redoubtably named Hercules, was churchwarden here.

The church is now part of the Monmouthshire Ministry Area, with a Holy Communion on the second Sunday and a lay-led service on the fourth.

St Tysoi, Church Lane, Llansoy, NP15 1EX

St Cadoc, Raglan

St Cadoc sits on a slope below the crossroads in the little town of Raglan, its tower a prominent landmark. Like the town, the church is rather overshadowed by its impressive castle, but it is worth a look nonetheless.

The church reflects the succession of the owners of the castle: although probably founded by the de Clare family, development from the 12th to the 14th century was thanks to their successors, the Bluets. Of this period, the 14th century chancel survives. Major rebuilding took place in the 15th century under the Herberts and then the Somersets, Earls of Beaufort. They rebuilt the nave, and added both the tower (c.1460) and the Beaufort Chapel of two bays, north of the chancel. 

The church suffered badly during the Civil War, when Parliamentary troops damaged the chapel and desecrated the tombs during the siege of Raglan. A comprehensive restoration by Wyatt in 1868 for the 8th Duke of Beaufort saw the chapel restored, a north aisle of two bays erected to its west, and most of the windows replaced.

With its rubble walls and stone tile roofs, the church belies the grandeur of its patrons: this effect continues inside, where the modest nave and chancel with their scraped walls and barrel-vaulted roofs feel positively rustic - an effect heightened by the dark Victorian stained glass. Of greater interest is the Beaufort Chapel, which has the shattered remains of the effigies: these comprise the 3rd and 4th Earls of Worcester, William Somerset (d. 1589) and Edward (d. 1628), and Edward's wife Elizabeth (d. 1621). The Somersets themselves lie buried in a crypt beneath the chancel: this has been opened several times, and a brass plaque in the chancel described those thought to be buried there. The remaining fittings are all 19th century, although the pulpit has five panels of blind tracery, apparently C15, believed to come from a lost rood screen.

The church is now one of a dizzying number in the Heart of Monmouthshire Ministry Area, and has a regular Sunday Holy Communion, with a mid-week communion, alongside meetings of the Mothers' Union. The church is evidently very popular for weddings - there were two during my stay here.

St Cadoc, Chepstow Road, Raglan NP15 2EP

St Peter, Bryngwyn

Bryngwyn feels very tucked away, located on a quiet road junction a few miles north west of Raglan. It serves a scattered, rural settlement of farms and houses, typical of this part of Monmouthshire. Perhaps surprisingly then, no less an author than Gerald of Wales records that there was a church here in 1180, built by Aeddan Gwaethfoed, Lord of Clytha. The Cadw listing also records that the Rev. William Crawley was rector for an impressive 62 years, 1834-96.

The oldest parts of the present church date from the 13th century, and include the west doorway and a lancet above, now both opening into the tower, added in the late 14th or early 15th century. The remaining fabric was substantially rebuilt in the 15th century, including the nave, chancel and pretty wooden south porch. The two-bay north aisle, chancel arch and east window owe their existence to a thorough restoration of John Pritchard in 1871. An interesting feature is the late medieval two-level window at the south east end of the nave, to illuminate a long-vanished rood.

The cosy interior is cheerfully bright, helped by the prevalence of clear glass and whitewashed walls. Most of the fittings are Victorian, save for a late mediaeval font and 17th century altar rails, and a bold neo-Gothic reredos of 1923.

Remote it may be, but it is clearly well looked after - the churchyard being immaculately mown on my visit. Part of the Heart of Monmouth Ministry Area, it has a fortnightly communion.

St Peter, Bryngwyn NP15 2DB

St Jerome, Llangwm Uchaf

St Tysoi, Llansoy

St John, Apostle & Evangelist, Llandenny

St Peter, Dixton

Priory Church of St Mary, Chepstow

St Stephen & St Tathan, Caerwent

St Mary's (RC), Newport

This is a very attractive Victorian Roman Catholic church, just up Stow Hill from Newport City centre.

History

A small chapel was built on the site of the then-expanding seaport and industrial centre in 1812, but the town's continued growth meant that a larger church was soon needed, and the original chapel was demolished in 1839. The new church was built in the neo-Gothic style, with a prominent tower at the west end, which also formed the main entrance. Inside, the nave arcade was built with slender columns made of cast iron - the first such use of metal pillars in Wales.

The construction of St Mary’s took place around the same time as the Chartist uprising; the Chartist rioters passed the church and ordered workmen to join them, although they declined. In 1901 the original east window was replaced by one of the Assumption of the Virgin by John Hardman, who worked with the Pugins.

The church

The church is essentially in the Early English Gothic style, with tall lancets with shafts and hoods, and the slender piers have frilly stiff-leaf capitals. The most notable feature of the church from the outside is its tower, the muscular design of which, decorated with abundant blind arcading, provides a distinct contrast with the light and airy interior. Indeed, the pale pink walls with white arcades and detailing gives almost a wedding-cake like appearance.

Today, the church is part of the united parish of 'All Saints' in Newport, formed in 2007 and incorporating six former parishes. Although the interior is not open outside service times, the outer doors are kept open, allowing one a good view into the nave.

 9 Stow Hill, Newport, Wales NP20 1TP

Cathedral Church of St Woolos, Newport

Set high on Stow Hill and commanding fine views over Newport, the Cathedral of St Woolos (Welsh: St Gwynllyw) is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Monmouth. Incorporating fabric spanning over 1,000 years, it has a rich and fascinating history.

History

The exact origins of the church are shrouded in legend, but the first church is said to have been built around 500AD by Gwynllyw, a local Lord. He fell in love with Gwladys, daughter of the King Brychan (modern Brecon) but, having been refused her hand in marriage, he abducted her. Evidently she still married him and, over time, Gwynllyw was converted to Christianity both by Gwladys and their pious son Cadog (later St Cadog). Gwynllyw then built a religious settlement or Clas on the site of the present cathedral - chosen, again according to legend, after an angel in a dream told him to build a church where he found a white ox with a black spot on its head.

This original 6th century building would have been made of wood and wattle-and-daub, but the site was revered sufficiently for the Saxons to build a later stone church on the site of the present St Mary’s Chapel, possibly in the 10th century. The remains of this church constitute the oldest part of the present building.

In 1080 a new church with a nave and lean-to aisles was built by the Normans, immediately east of the Saxon building. The earlier church was probably by this time a ruin, as the Norman west door pierced its east wall. Around 1200, the Saxon chapel was restored and the walls raised, with narrow lancet windows inserted above arched tomb niches.

The church was badly damaged in 1402 by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr, but later in the 1400s substantially enlarged and repaired, mostly by Jasper Tudor, uncle of Henry VII. The north aisle was enlarged and fine Perpendicular Gothic windows were inserted, followed later on by a similar enlargement of the south aisle, and a double-height south porch with a priest’s house on the first floor. Finally, the tower was added towards the end of the 15th century, and included a statue of Jasper Tudor, as Governor of Newport 1485-95.

The church’s history then shows a period of steady decline: much damaged during the Civil War, by the early 19th century St Mary’s Chapel had become a charnel house, and the nave had effectively become a chapel, with a singing gallery on the site of the rood screen, cutting off the nave from the chancel.

Restoration began in 1818 with the repair of St Mary’s Chapel, which then became the main entrance of the church. An extensive further restoration in 1853 replaced the south porch and the two 15th century south aisle windows with three new ones; restored the Norman font and 15th century chancel; and removed the singing gallery and inserted a new chancel arch.

The next phase of building resulted from the decision in 1921 to create a new Diocese of Monmouth. After much deliberation, St Woolos was chosen to be the new Cathedral, a process finally completed in 1949. However, it was clear that the original chancel was too small for its function as cathedral, so an new East End was built in 1961-2 by the eminent architect ADR Caroe, decorated with a mural and new rose window designed by the artist John Piper.

The church

The church is today entered through the 15th century tower, into the 13th century St Mary’s chapel. This includes the restored Norman font, with green men on each corner. The effigies in the tomb recesses are unfortunately horribly mutilated and decayed (and, sadly, rather fenced off by modern central heating pipes), although that of Sir John Morgan (d. 1491) and his wife Janet has some better preserved elements. The low window on the right has a mediaeval rose inserted into what is probably an original Saxon window. Stonework on the lower left and right sides also remains from the pre-Conquest church.

Eyes are, however, drawn forwards to the Norman door, one of the Cathedral’s treasures. The columns are very unusual, and are likely to be Roman, sourced from the settlement at Caerleon. The capitals are also unusual; they are of Composite design, but incorporate Norman humanistic sculpture (depicting praying men and birds). The capitals may therefore have been Roman, with the Norman work carved into them when the church was built. The arch itself has bands of bold zig-zag, billet and chevron decoration.

The nave is instantly recognisable as Norman work, with five bays of rounded arches on round piers with scalloped cushion capitals. Both arcades have empty windows which once formed the clerestory, but became internal when the aisles were raised. On the left by the chancel arch, the door to the long-vanished rood-loft can be seen.

The north aisle is bright and wide, the Tudor windows filled with clear glass; the south aisle is narrower, and a line of corbels indicates the height of the original aisle. At the east end, a tall modern Gothic arch leads onto St Luke’s chapel, a modern addition despite its appearance. At the west end is the impressive classical-style tomb of Sir Walter Herbert of St Julians, (d. 1568), albeit with the effigy badly mutilated. It is a rare Renaissance survivor in Wales.

Beyond the chancel arch, the modern chancel provides a literally bright contrast, with its clean lines and modern wooden furnishings, although some of the windows – including the small ‘Leper’s Window’ on the north side - were kept from the original chancel. The eye is drawn to Piper’s huge bold mural, which depicts the creation, its outline recalling the Norman architecture elsewhere. Critics vary on how well the old and new fuse, but it certainly adds a new and bold dimension to a building which already reflected a variety of historical styles.

Before you leave, it is also worth looking down, for the floor is paved with interesting memorial stones, dating from 1653 onwards.

Practicalities

The church is a 10 minute walk up Stow Hill from Newport City Centre, and is open most days for private prayer and visitors. As well as being a cathedral, it has a large and populous parish, and services are held daily – see website for details. The church has a small shop in the south porch.

On my visit, I was made very welcome indeed by a small group of very friendly and helpful ladies, with wonderful organ music playing in the background.