- Priory Church of St Mary, Abergavenny
The Priory Church of St Mary, Abergavenny is a church in the centre of the
market town ofAbergavenny ,Monmouthshire in south eastWales in theUnited Kingdom .St. Marys has been called 'the
Westminster Abbey of Wales' because of its large size [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/710315] and the number of high statuschurch monument tombs and the raremedieval effigies surviving within it [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/710352] .History
It was originally the church of the
Benedictine Priory established underHamelin de Balun the first Norman holder of the titleLord Abergavenny or laterBaron Bergavenny in the 1090s. At this time it was a cell of the Abbey of Saint Vincent atLe Mans inFrance . Recentarchaeological survey s have revealed significant finds of RomanSamian ware pottery, suggesting that the Church may have been on the site of a previous site ofRomano-British and possibly Celtic worship.Henry de Abergavenny was aPrior here and later atLlandaff in the late 12th century and was chosen to assist at the Coronation ofKing John I of England in 1199.Successive Lords of Abergavenny were by necessity also benefactors, including the
pious andruthless William de Braose, 7th Baron Abergavenny .In 1320
John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings , called on the Pope to set up an investigation into the Priory, in which themonk s were accused of failing to maintain the Benedictine Rule and thePrior , Fulk Gaston, absconded to the mother Abbey with the church silver!Later History
By the
Dissolution of the Monasteries the Priory had only the Prior and four monks. Due to the close connections between the Lords of Abergavenny and the Tudor dynasty the priory was spared and became theparish church .Description
The church is
cruciform in layout and impressively large with achancel andnave 172 feet long or 52 metres in length.The central tower has Ten bells.
The church is mainly in the
Decorated andPerpendicular Period architectural style s and was like many churches subjected to Victorian period refurbishment in the 19th century with sadly little trace of the originalNorman architecture surviving. The NormanBaptismal font was rediscovered in thechurchyard in the 19th century; it had been removed from the church in the 17th century by a localBaptist minister, John Abbot, on the grounds that he did not believe ininfant baptism .However the
oaken choir stalls with carvedmisericord s and carved lattice work backs are 15th century survivals. They bear the name of the Prior at that time named 'Wynchestre' and his own stall remains, slightly raised and surmounted by amitre .Effigies
The chief claims to fame for the church today lie in its collection of effigies. The effigies are in wood,
alabaster andmarble and range in date from the 13th century to the 17th century. Oneeffigy is that of John de Hastings, Lord of Abergavenny (died 1324) and shows him as a youngknight , wearing a longsurcoat over ahauberk and hood of finechainmail .The Lewis Chapel
In the Lewis
Chapel within the priory church are two female effigies, one holding aheart in her palm, a device used to signify a possible 'heart only' burial and dates from the end of the 13th century. Her identity is unsure but she is certainly a high status individual as she bears ashield bearing a coat of arms, which is rare for a female effigy. Her neighbour, a second female effigy, dated from the 14th century, is likely to beEva de Braose who died while pursuing her petRed squirrel when its escaped and ran along the castle walls atAbergavenny Castle , causing Eva to fall to her death while attempting to recapture it. The effigy has a light chain around her waist and was documented once as having been attached to a small squirell which formed part of the effigy. It has since been knocked off or defaced. This act of vandalism most likely dates from theCommonwealth of England period (1649 - 1660) underOliver Cromwell .The Herbert Chapel
The Herbert Chapel contains
recumbent monuments and effigies in bothalabaster andmarble associated with the ap Thomas and Herbert families. Sir Richard Herbert was brought up with the youngHenry Tudor , the future Henry VII, atRaglan Castle . In 1485 Herbert supported Henry's claim to the throne, fighting with him as he defeatedRichard III at theBattle of Bosworth . It is this support that ultimately saw St Mary's spared the worst of the despoliation of monasteries in the dissolution.Within the chapel are also
brasses dating from the16th century and17th century .The Jesse
The
Jesse [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/710335] is an elaborate, very large15th century wooden carving which would have once been part of an even larger carving forming aJesse Tree telling thelineage ofJesus Christ based on that in theBible . It is unique in Britain and described byTate Britain as one of the finestmedieval sculpture s in the world.The Priory Church of St Mary Today
The church also contains a large 24 foot
tapestry depicting the history of Abergavenny and constructed to mark theMillennium in 2000. This is shortly to he hung on public display in the adjacenttithe barn which has recently been restored as the Priory's Heritage Centre.External links
* [http://www.stmarys-priory.org/ St Mary's Priory website]
* [http://irenamorgan.users.btopenworld.com/epriory.htm Local History website info]
* [http://www.history.uk.com/articles/index.php?archive=34 History UK website]
* [http://www.stmaryspriorychoir.org/ The Choir website]
* [http://irenamorgan.users.btopenworld.com/etap.htm The Tapestry info]
* [http://www.shipoffools.com/Mystery/2002/465Mystery.html A review of the church from a mystery shopper / worshipper]
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