St Michael's Church, Manafon, is in the small village of
Manafon,
Powys,
Wales. It is an active
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church in the
parish of Llanfair Caereinion, Llanllugan and Manafon, the deanery of Mathrafal, the archdeaconry of Montgomery and the
diocese of St Asaph. The church has been designated by
Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
as a Grade II*
listed building.
History
There is documentary evidence relating to the church in 1254 and 1291 but otherwise nothing is known of its history until it was restored in 1859. In this restoration windows, including a five-light
dormer window on the south side, were replaced and the
vestry was added. A further restoration was carried out by the
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
architect,
John Douglas in 1898. Plaster was removed from the walls and the
chancel floor was raised. Douglas replaced the seating, added a screen between the
nave and chancel, provided a new
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
,
lectern, prayer desks, altar rails and table,
sedilia and a
credence table. He also designed the
lych gate at the entrance to the churchyard. In 1992 repairs were undertaken to the interior of the west wall.
The poet
R. S. Thomas was rector of Manafon from 1942 to 1954.
Architecture
The church is built in stone with
slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
roofs. Its plan consists of a nave and chancel in a single chamber with a south porch, a north vestry and a timber
belfry at the west end. On the end of the east
gable is a
Celtic cross
The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...
finial
A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...
. The east window is the original
Perpendicular window. The other windows date from the 1859 restoration. The belfry is painted white, it has
louvered bell-openings on the north and south faces, and a pyramidal slate roof surmounted by a
weathercock.
[
]
External features
In the churchyard is a sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
set on a wooden plinth. The lychgate is at the main, southwest entrance. A slate hipped roof is supported by three tie-beams and has a central cross. The middle tie-beam is inscribed in Welsh on the church side and in English on the side of the road.[
]
See also
* List of church restorations, amendments and furniture by John Douglas
References
External links
Artwork at St Michael's Church, Manafon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manafon, St Michael's Church
Churches in Powys
Church in Wales church buildings
English Gothic architecture in Powys
Gothic architecture in Wales
John Douglas buildings
Grade II* listed churches in Powys