The Church of St Bartholomew, Llanover,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

is a parish church with its origins in the period following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

appears the earliest part of the present building, with the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

dating from the 14th century, the tower from the 16th century and the porch from the 18th century. After a limited

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proce ...

in the middle of the 19th century, the church has been essentially unchanged. It is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The church sits just north of the village of Llanover, close to the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...

. The nave is considered to be

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

in origin. The chancel dates from the 14th century, stylistically, and the porch has a date stone of 1750. The building was lightly restored in the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

period and has been little altered since that time. It remains an active parish church.

Architecture and description

The church is constructed of Old Red Sandstone. The style is

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

. The interior contains a Royal coat of arms which the architectural historian John Newman described as "painted with much panache, the heraldic shield leaning rakishly between an excitable lion and unicorn". The churchyard contains the tomb of Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover, dated 1868. The church is a Grade II* listed building.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Llanover, Saint Bartholomew Grade II* listed churches in Monmouthshire History of Monmouthshire Church in Wales church buildings in Monmouthshire 14th-century church buildings in Wales