Church of St Catwg, Mitchel Troy, Monmouthshire

Entry Name: Church of St Catwg

Listing Date: 27 November 1953

Last Amended: 27 September 2001

Grade: II*

Source: Cadw

Source ID: 18286

Building Class: Religious, Ritual and Funerary

Also known as: St Catwg's Church, Cwmcarvan
Church of St Catwg, Cwmcarvan

ID on this website: 300018286

Location: In a relatively isolated position about 2.4km SSW of Monmouth, in the fork of two lanes which run S up towards Cwmcarvan Hill.

County: Monmouthshire

Community: Mitchel Troy (Llanfihangel Troddi)

Community: Mitchel Troy

Locality: Cwmcarvan

Traditional County: Monmouthshire

Tagged with: Church building Gothic architecture

Find accommodation in
Llanishen

History

Probably late C13 or early C14, tower added or rebuilt c.1525; restored and chancel rebuilt by John Prichard 1872-9. Apparently customarily regarded as a chapel-of-ease to St Michael's.

Exterior

A humble medieval nave-and-chancel church, with N and S porches, greatly dignified by a superbly-proportioned and finely-finished W tower built in the early Tudor period. The nave, porches and chancel are all built of warm-hued Old Red Sandstone with roofs of small grey slates; the tower of greyer-hued ashlar.
The tower has 3 stages, boldly distinguished by weathered string-courses carried round, and finished with an emphatically embattled parapet, and has a slightly-tapered rectangular 4-stage stair-turret at the NE corner, rising above the main parapet, similarly embattled and carrying a tall weather-cock. Its W
face has a Tudor-arched doorway with a hoodmould, a small square window above this; a 2-centred arched belfry window to the top stage, of 2 cusped depressed-arched lights with stone louvres and Perpendicular blank tracery above; and, at each end of the string-course above, a very prominent but plain pipe-shaped gargoyle. The S side of the 2nd stage has a vertically-aligned pair of small square windows; the N side has only one. Each side of the belfry stage has a window like the W side.
The N side of the nave has a single very sturdy buttress near the E end, a medieval cusped lancet to the right of this, with a hoodmould, a large Victorian 3-light traceried window, and a prominent gabled porch towards the W end, with a moulded 2-centred doorway and an apex finial. Its S side has a small gabled porch close to the W end, with shafted imposts and hollow moulding; 2 widely-spaced square-headed 3-light windows with cinquefoiled lights; and in the centre between these is a low blocked square-headed doorway with a humped monolithic lintel. The chancel (rebuilt by Prichard) has a priest doorway flanked by 2-light mullioned windows with depressed-arched lights; a similar E window; and a similarly-arched 1-light window on the N side. The E gables of the nave and chancel both have
raised coping, that to the chancel of emphatic width.

Interior

Both walls of the nave (which are now unplastered) have a pronounced internal batter, and carry deep moulded wallplates with brattished cornices, from which rises a late medieval ribbed barrel-vaulted roof. In the centre of the S wall is a blocked round-headed doorway. At the W end is a relatively narrow tower arch with a Tudor-arched extrados and a set-in 2-centred arch dying into the sides, both arches with sunk-wave moulding: probably late C13 or early C14. It contains a wooden screen made of Jacobean carved arched panels. At the E end is a low 2-centred and double-chamfered chancel arch, and within the chancel the E side of the wall above shows the gable line of a formerly lower chancel. In the centre of the S wall of the chancel is a blocked 2-centred arch; and on the floor of the NE corner is a medieval stone coffin lid with carved with a cross in a foliated roundel.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a medieval church retaining interesting original detail, and with a fine early Tudor tower.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

Other nearby listed buildings

II Cross in churchyard of the church of St Catwg
About 20m S of the W end of the church.
II Cwmcarvan Court
About 600m NE of the church of St Catwg, but approached from the opposite direction, down a long lane running down the S side of Craig-y-dorth Hill.
II Barn range to E of Cwmcarvan Court
About 50m E of Cwmcarvan Court
II Mounting block at Cwmcarvan Court
About 50m E of Cwmcarvan Court, on the S side of the drive, between the N end of the barn on that side and a former stable building on the opposite side.
II Pentre Wheeler Farmhouse
On W side of minor road between Great Llanthomas and Llwyn-y-Celyn, about 1.3km SSW of Cwmcarvan Church..
II Barn with integral stable and attached shelter shed to S of Pentre Wheeler Farmhouse
On W side of minor road between Great Llanthomas and Llwyn-y-Celyn, about 1.3km SSW of Cwmcarvan Church, standing about 10m S of the farmhouse.
II Llwyn-celen Farmhouse
In an elevated position on the E side of, and close to, the junction of 2 lanes on the N side of Cwmcarvan Hill, about 1.4km SSE of Cwmcarvan Church
II Bailey Glace
To the E of Cwmcarvan Brook, at the end of a short track leading off the lane running N-S through Cwmcarvan, and about 1.2km NNE of the church of St Catwg.

British Listed Buildings

History in Structure

Church of St Catwg

A Grade II* Listed Building in Mitchel Troy, Monmouthshire

Coordinates