Church of St Mary

Cadw's description

Location

About 200m east of the road junction in the centre of Monknash on the south side of the road going towards St Donats.

History

In c1130 the whole fee of Aissa (Monknash), with the church and all its belongings, was granted to the Abbey of Neath (C A H Green, see below) which then established a grange at Monknash. Present church probably of late C12 origin, with C16 to C17 work and Victorian restoration by Prichard and Seddon in 1863.

Exterior

Local lias limestone rubble walls, Welsh slate roofs with coping to gable ends. Chancel, nave with west bellcote and south porch. Wholly of Norman wall construction except for the porch but the only visible external features are the remains of the blocked doorway in the north wall and the small north-east chancel window.
Nave with large gabled south porch with slate roof set centrally, battered side walls with two small C18 memorials on east wall; segmentally headed entry with timber double doors. The porch contains lateral benches and stone flagged floor, C16 door to church with chamfered jambs and 4-centered head, boarded door which is probably C20. Main nave wall with plinth, 2-light square headed and mullioned window to left of porch and 3-light square headed mullioned window, partly with dripstone to right. These windows have hollow chamfers and are probably late C16. West end of nave with stepped stone bellcote on gable and with buttress to north, bell dated 1637. Most of the nave north wall is steeply battered with some disturbed stonework on site of Norman north door, otherwise blind except for a small rectangular window with dripstone set high for the rood. The small chancel has a lower roofline than the nave. The north wall has a plinth and a round-headed rope moulded single light Norman window. The east gable wall is largely a Victorian rebuild and has an introduced 3-light window in Decorated style, trefoil heads to the lights and quatrefoils above. The south wall has a window of two moulded triangular headed lights with sunk spandrels in square head with dripstone over, also probably late C16. Cross to coped east gable.

Interior

Simple two cell Norman interior with four bay C15 roof to the nave, with arch braced collar trusses with curved feet set into the top of the walls and double purlins; plastered stone walls; stone flagged floor. Blocked north arch opposite south door; simple Norman chancel arch with rough impost blocks, formerly possibly with stone screen (see Archaeologia Cambrensis, 1901); north-east corbel for former bressumer to former Rood-loft. Victorian furnishings, with a c1870 stone pulpit, and Victorian roof in chancel. Early C17 octagonal stone font (baptismal and burial licence of 1607). Plain C18 floor memorials in chancel; two C18 wall memorials in nave.

Reason for designation

Included and highly graded as a largely complete early medieval church which has retained its character and has a number of important features.