History in Structure

Church of Saint Mary

A Grade II* Listed Building in Wiston, Pembrokeshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.8252 / 51°49'30"N

Longitude: -4.8714 / 4°52'17"W

OS Eastings: 202218

OS Northings: 217959

OS Grid: SN022179

Mapcode National: GBR CQ.W69X

Mapcode Global: VH1RG.JD15

Plus Code: 9C3QR4GH+3C

Entry Name: Church of Saint Mary

Listing Date: 1 March 1963

Last Amended: 16 June 2004

Grade: II*

Source: Cadw

Source ID: 12017

Building Class: Religious, Ritual and Funerary

Also known as: St Mary's Church, Wiston

ID on this website: 300012017

Location: In a prominent position on the S side of the road through Wiston and some 200m S of Wiston Castle.

County: Pembrokeshire

Town: Haverfordwest

Community: Wiston (Cas-wis)

Community: Wiston

Traditional County: Pembrokeshire

Tagged with: Church building

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History

Anglican parish church, probably founded with the borough before 1112. The two round arched doors to the nave look C12-C13 which may be the date of the basic nave structure, but the chancel arch is probably C15 as are the restored chancel windows. The tower with vaulted base is C14 or early C15, the odd change in the slope of the sides suggests a phased building. The porch with its unusual ogee-headed doorway is probably C15. The church was restored for Lord Cawdor in 1864-5 by David Brandon who replaced the nave windows and the roofs.

Exterior

Church, rubble stone with slate roofs, overhanging at gables. W tower, nave, N porch, long chancel.
W tower has pronounced slope inward at about a third of the way up. Corbelled embattled parapet. Segmental-pointed bell-opening on W, N and E sides with rough stone voussoirs and stone louvres. N side has a loop, W side has no door, loop to ground floor and mid height, and two small loops further up, one each side at different levels. S side has rectangular ground floor small window, tiny loop, and small rectangular bell opening with grey stone sides and lintel.
Nave N has large porch with C19 overhanging verge to gable, unusual C15 ogee head to broad double-chamfered entry. Slate floor and slated benches within. Plastered pointed vault. Arched N doorway with cut stone voussoirs to arch, plain caps chamfered beneath. Holy water stoup on E wall right and another in pointed recess on W wall, square bowl set diagonally with lobed corner. W wall has four small slate plaques to David Lloyd of Cilciffeth died 1631 and family. To left, nave has 2 big buttresses with slated set-offs and 2 C19 grey-stone paired lancet windows with varied coloured voussoirs.
Nave S has 3 pairs of similar C19 lancets. Low broad sloping buttresses to left and right of first window. Blocked square-headed opening right of second window.
Lower, narrower chancel has 2 square-headed windows of Bath stone on S side, restored late medieval, with cusped heads to lights and relieving arches. E end has overhanging gable verge and Bath stone restored late medieval 3-light segmental-pointed window with cusped panel tracery. Slate pedimented plaque to Anne Davies died 1837, by H. Llewellyn. Chancel N has two similar 2-light windows, the left one all C19.

Interior

Whitewashed plastered interior, the nave walls markedly sloped. C19 five-bay nave roof with six thin tie-beam trusses with octagonal column posts carrying an upper post and two arched braces up to collars. Low pointed W arch to tower which has a pointed stone vault, low door on W wall right with stone voussoirs to segmental pointed arch. Deep window reveal on S. Nave N has round-arched N door with indent in top right and two windows in segmental-pointed reveals. Nave S has 3 similar windows and low blocked round-arched door opposite N door, between first and second windows. Corbel to right of third window. Cut-stone pointed chancel arch in two orders with square caps to inner and outer order, the caps chamfered below. One step to chancel which has rafter roof to 7-sided profile. Two stone steps to sanctuary. Small piscina with cambered headed recess and shelf.
Fittings: massive C12 ashlar square font with scallops and darts, and rope-mould beneath around squat round shaft with rounded base moulding and square plinth. Apparently all of a single piece of stone. Retooled in C19. C19 plain timber pulpit on stone base with stone steps, applied late C20 white wood carvings in panels of canted front. Brass late C19 eagle lectern. C19 plain pine pews and chancel stalls. C19 organ in chancel N. C20 oak sanctuary rails. Two wood carvings like those on pulpit: Last Supper in blocked S doorway and Virgin on nave N wall.
Stained glass: Nave S 2-light window, SS George & David, war memorial, 1920 by Kempe & Co. Chancel E window, 3-light, bright colours, faded drawing, Parable of the talents, c. 1865 by Heaton, Butler & Bayne. Chancel N & S, two 2-light windows of 1934 by Shrigley & Hunt, chancel S 2-light SS Mary & John by Celtic Studios 1982, to Rev. J. Lloyd Williams, with pictures of church and vicarage.
Memorials: nave N brass to 2nd Lt T. Jones, Corner Farm, killed 1917. Chancel N plaque to F. Jewell (d 1922). Chancel S marble memorial with draped urn to Eleanora Roberts (d 1795) by Lancaster of Bristol.

Reasons for Listing

Graded II* as a substantial medieval church with good tower and porch.

External Links

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