St Cybi's Church, Llangybi, Monmouthshire

St Cybi's Church, Llangybi, Monmouthshire
Church of St Cybi
The entrance and tower
St Cybi's Church, Llangybi, Monmouthshire
Location in Monmouthshire
Coordinates: 51°39′56″N 2°54′23″W / 51.6655°N 2.9064°W / 51.6655; -2.9064
Location Llangybi, Monmouthshire
Country Wales
Denomination Church in Wales
History
Status Parish church
Founded C13th-C14th century
Architecture
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Grade II*
Designated 18 November 1980
Architectural type Church
Administration
Parish Llangybi
Deanery Raglan/Usk
Archdeaconry Monmouth
Diocese Monmouth
Clergy
Vicar(s) The Reverend K J Hasler

The Church of St Cybi, Llangybi, Monmouthshire is a parish church with its origins in the 13th or 14th century. Refurbished in the 15th century, the church was restored in 1909-10. The interior has a notable collection of medieval wall paintings, in particular a Christ of the Trades, dating from c.1460. The church, although an active parish church, is currently closed for a significant repair programme. It is a Grade II* listed building and the architectural writer John Newman, recording the church in the Buildings of Wales series, described it as "one of the most interesting in the Usk Valley."

History

The church is dedicated to St Cybi, a 6th-century Cornish saint who is reputed to have founded the church. The present church dates from either the 13th or the 14th century.[1] The church was refurbished in the early 18th century and then restored in the early 20th century by W H Dashwood Caple.[1] The wall paintings are medieval and include The Creed and a depiction of Christ of the Trades.[2] Whitewashed over for centuries, they are currently (2017) being restored, as part of an extensive restoration of the church.[3]

Adam of Usk, the 15th century priest and chronicler, was the incumbent of the parish in 1423.[1]

The churchyard is the site of the grave of the victims of a Spanish sailor,[4] Josef Garcia, who was convicted and hanged for the murder of five members of the Watkins family, resident in the village, in a notorious 19th century murder case.[5]

Just outside the churchyard, are the remains of a Holy well, also dedicated to St Cybi.[6] Recent scholarship suggests that the well, and the White Hart Inn in the village, were referenced by T.S. Eliot in his poem Usk.[7] The relevant lines read:

"Do not suddenly break the branch, or
Hope to find
The white hart behind the white well."

Architecture and description

The style of the building is Perpendicular.[8] The West Tower is two-storeyed and without buttresses.[8] The medieval roof of the nave has been exposed during current renovations.[9] Simon Jenkins described the early 20th century restoration of the interior as "masterly" and attributes it to W. D. Caröe.[10] In addition to the medieval wall painting, the interior has a number of 17th century painted inscriptions.[8] It also has some funerary monuments, including one dedicated to John Morgan, and dated 1805, by Tyley of Bristol. The monument depicts a woman crying over an urn under a spreading weeping willow. Opinions differ as to its quality; the record in British Listed Buildings describes it as "good",[1] while Newman considers it "hackneyed."[8] The pulpit is a reconstructed example from the 18th century, with an associated sounding board to amplify the preacher's voice.[11] The pews are of the 19th century, and the organ dates from 1933.[11]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Good Stuff. "Church of St Cybi, Llangybi, Monmouthshire". Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  2. ↑ "Domesday Reloaded: Saint Cybi's Church,Llangybi". BBC. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  3. ↑ "Project to keep church 'open to all' wins £50k lottery grant | News". Monmouthshire Beacon. 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  4. ↑ "Domesday Reloaded: Saint Cybi's Church,Llangybi". BBC. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  5. ↑ "The Times Newspaper Reports | The Llangybi Murders". 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  6. ↑ "Wales' 1000 Best Heritage Sites - Terry Breverton - Google Books". Books.google.co.uk. 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  7. ↑ Tonkin, Boyd. "Welsh pub helps solve T S Eliot's religious riddle". The Independent. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Newman 2000, pp. 309-10.
  9. ↑ "St Cybi'S Church, Llangybi". Coflein. 2006-04-16. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  10. ↑ Jenkins 2008, p. 187.
  11. 1 2 Good Stuff. "Church of St Cybi, Llangybi, Monmouthshire". Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-19.

References

  • Jenkins, Simon (2008). Wales: Churches, Houses, Castles. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-713-99893-1.
  • Newman, John (2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire. The Buildings of Wales. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071053-1.
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