- Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Llanfair Kilgeddin
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The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Llanfair Kilgeddin
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is the parish church for Llanfair Kilgeddin, near Usk in Monmouthshire, south east Wales.
The church is located on farmland close to the river, about 1 mile north of the village. It was originally mediaeval but was rebuilt in 1875-76 by the architect John Dando Sedding, commissioned by the local rector, Rev. William John Coussmaker Lindsay (1832-1912).[1] The church now contains some mediaeval features including a font, but is best known for its Arts and Crafts style sgraffito decorations which cover the interior walls. These were commissioned by Lindsay at a cost of £500 in memory of his wife Rosamund, and designed by Heywood Sumner.[2] 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. Sumner's work was completed in 1888.[3][4]
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.[5] The charity was supported by the Victorian Society and received financial support from Cadw and the Pilgrim Trust.[4] As from 2006 the church has been designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building.[5] It has been said of Sumner's decoration that it "should make Llanfair Kilgeddin a place of pilgrimage for disciples of the Arts and Crafts movement".[3]
References
- ^ Rev. Lindsay at thePeerage.com
- ^ Kelly's Directory 1901: Llanfair Kilgeddin
- ^ a b John Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire, 2000, ISBN 0-14-071053-1, p.284
- ^ a b c Friends of Friendless Churches: Llanfair Kilgeddin
- ^ a b Saunders, Matthew (2010), Saving Churches, London: Frances Lincoln, pp. 60–62, 122, ISBN 978-0-7112-3154-2
External links
Categories:- Grade I listed churches
- Grade I listed buildings in Monmouthshire
- Former churches in Wales
- Religious buildings completed in 1876
- 19th-century church buildings
- Arts and Crafts architecture
- Churches preserved by the Friends of Friendless Churches
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