The name or dedication of the church.
This identifies the church type. Most churches are parish churches which means they serve a specific parish or area. Other types such as chapel, daughter and mission are mostly historic designations as many are now also parish churches. Please note that former churches are no longer used for worhsip and may be in private ownership.
A unique identification number given to every church.
The name of the diocese in which the church is located.
The name of the archdeaconry in which the church is located.
This is the legal name of the parish as given by the Church Commissioners.
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There are 3 levels of listing: Grade I, II* & II. The majority of buildings which are of special interest are Grade II. A much smaller number of particularly important buildings are listed as Grade II*. Buildings of exceptional interest (approx 2% of the total number of listed buildings) are Grade I.
Ancient monuments and archaeological remains of national importance are protected by law. Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service is responsible for compiling a schedule (list) of these ancient monuments, some of which can be found in churches and churchyards. Examples can include churchyard crosses and the archaeological remains of previous churches or buildings on the site.
There are three National Parks in Wales: Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire Coast and Brecon Beacons. These protect 20 percent of the land in Wales, including precious landscapes, habitats, villages and heritage sites.
There are over 500 conservation areas in Wales. They are designated by local planning authorities for their special architectural and historic interest.
The Buildings at Risk register is managed by Cadw (the Welsh Government’s historic environment service) in order to identify the number and type of listed buildings at risk in Wales.
It is often extremely difficult to determine a precise date of construction for a church as many have been extensively altered over time. Church Heritage Cymru therefore shows a date range within which a church is believed to have been constructed. The dates are as follows: Early Medieval (pre 1066), Medieval (post 1066 to 1540), Post Medieval (1540 to 1837), Victorian/Pre WWI (1837 to 1914) and Modern (post 1914).
This is a very brief summary of the church's main features. More detailed nformation can be found in the other fields and pages (tabs) in this database.
Useful information is displayed here for people wishing to visit the church. This may include things like opening hours, catering & toilet facilities, parking, etc.
If the church has its own website the details will be displayed here.
Any further sources of information for the church will be listed here (eg. links to other historic databases).
This is the Ordnance Survey (OS) reference for the location of the church. Some locations will be approximate as this data is continuously being refined and updated.
This is the name of the Local Authoirity within which the church is located.
This describes how the church relates to its immediate and wider environment, sometimes called its setting. It describes how the church contributes to its landscape or townscape and how these things collectively contribute to the character of the area.
Monmouth is on the A40 (now bypassed) some 210km west of London. The church is part of a group of buildings across the Monnow Bridge at the centre of the historic suburb of Overmonnow.
Reference AA Route Planner OS Map 162 Cadw Listing Notice 2214
This is a description of the ground plan of the church.
If known, the dimensions (measurements) of the church ground plan will be displayed here.
If the footrprint (area) of the church is known, it will be displayed here.
A description of the history and archaeology of the church and its site.
Mainly Norman in origin being founded as a chapel in 1186, with later additions. The church fell out of use in the C18 (disused when Coxe wrote in 1801) and was in decay for many years. It became the parish church of Overmonnow in 1832, and this prompted the restoration and refitting of the interior by T H Wyatt who was the Llandaff Diocesan Architect and Matthew Beason, Surveyor to the Duke of Beaufort who supplied the oak. Later Diocesan Architects also worked here, Prichard and Seddon (restoration of chancel in 1873), F Mew (west door in 1880) and F A Powell (chancel east wall and vestry in 1888-90) and later changes can be attributed to them. The west wall is said to have remained brick until 1880 when it was rebuilt in stone, while the east wall of the chancel and the bell-cote were added in 1874-5. The vestry was built in 1887 (by Powell). The building remains Norman in appearance and character but many of the features are C19. The greatest puzzle remains the west front where the available illustrations are somewhat contradictory.
A description of the exterior of the church and the main features of the churchyard.
Built mainly of red sandstone, but with repairs and refacing in much paler buff sandstone. Originally squared coursed semi-ashlar, but now much worn apart from the repairs. Welsh slate roofs. Aisleless nave with west door in semi-porch, west bellcote, chancel with south porch into vestry. Two storey nave with a cill band for the upper windows. West semi-porch with three orders of ? columns set within a flat topped side buttressed stone structure. There is some genuine Norman work here, the orders, but the original door to the church was the north one so this must be a Wyatt invention perhaps reusing the orders from the north door where they have been replaced with definite C19 work. Above the porch is an arched window and above that a clock in a circular stone frame. A Prichard-Seddon type bell-cote perches on the gable apex. This has a single bell in an east-west opening and a pyramid slate roof with windvane above. The north wall has corner buttresses, a small arched window at the west end (introduced in 1832) and a large central doorway with Victorian colonnettes but the original arches, Victorian door. This door has 1832 pews built against it on the inside so it was probably closed up then. Two arched windows on the upper floor flank the doorhead and another to the east, continuous cillband. Steeply pitched roof above. The chancel has a Victorian Norman style door, a central buttress and two replaced windows. The east end has buttresses on either side and a Victorian 3-light window with plain arched lights and dripmould. Lower roofline than nave which allows the nave to have a small arched window in the peak of the gable. Both nave and chancel gables have apex crosses. The south wall of the chancel is similar to the north but is partly covered by the vestry which is single storeyed in a matching Norman style and has an elaborate arched priest's door facing west and a decorative corbel table, roof hidden behind parapet. The south wall of the nave repeats the north, but without the central doorway.
Information about any noteable architects, artists, people, or events associated with the church.
Information about any important features and building fabric.
If known, a list of the church's major building material/s will be displayed here.
Any renewable energy systems the church is using will be listed here.
This section gives a general description of the interior of the church. Further details of any important internal fixtures and fittings will be listed below.
The appearance of the interior is a very remarkable and complete survival of an extremely early Norman Revival scheme of decoration in a pre-ecclesiological interior. It is in fact a Georgian preaching box plan with Norman enrichments and as such is probably unique from the early 1830s. This must reflect both Wyatt's interest in and respect for the C12 Norman work and his determination to match its character. The nave is plastered and painted with a wide span king post roof with additional queen struts, close boarded above. Fine late Norman style chancel arch of two orders with outer dogtooth, but the colonnettes are renewed. Remarkable timber galleries of 1832 cantilevered from the wall on large carved brackets and with a continuous Norman arcade as a front. Pews and pulpit of the same period, of differing elaboration all complete. Two fonts, a plain C15 one in the baptistery and a disused one with C19 interlace stem and charming possibly recut Romanesque bowl. The only alteration to the nave is the partitioning off of part of the west end. The chancel has stripped stone walls with largely recut rere-arches and an arch-braced collar-beam roof. The east wall can clearly be seen to be a late Victorian rebuild. Arcaded Norman style altar frontal. East window of 1957 by Celtic Studios.
Information about the church's important internal fixtures and fittings.
Information about the church's important moveable items and artworks.
A description of the ecology of the churchyard.
Information about the presence of bats in the church building or churchyard.
Records whether the church has been consecrated.
Records whether there have been burials in the churchyard.
Records whether the churchyard is still being used for burials.
Records whether there are any war graves in the churchyard.
Any important churchyard structures will be listed here.
Signifiance levels are set at high, medium and low.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship of the church to its surrounding area and helps place it within its wider landscape context.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the significance of the historic building fabric of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the historic significance of the interior of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship between the church and its community.