St Michael and All Angels Church, Llanfihangel Rogiet, is a

redundant church A redundant church, now referred to as a "closed church", is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused church ...

in the hamlet of Llanfihangel Rogiet near the village of

Rogiet Rogiet () cy, Rhosied is a small village and community (and electoral ward) in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, between Caldicot and Magor, west of Chepstow and east of Newport, which covers an area of . It lies close to the M4 and M48 mo ...

, Monmouthshire, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and is under the care of the

Friends of Friendless Churches Friends of Friendless Churches is a registered charity formed in 1957, active in England and Wales, which campaigns for and rescues redundant historic places of worship threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. As of April ...

. The church stands in a rural site between two farms, is near the Paddington-Swansea railway line, and close to the intersection of the M4 and

M48 motorway The M48 is a long motorway in Great Britain, which crosses the Severn near Chepstow, Monmouthshire, linking England with Wales via the Severn Bridge. This road used to be the M4, and as a result is anomalously numbered: as it lies to the ...

s. It can be approached only through a private farmyard.

History

Most of the fabric of the church dates back to the 13th century, and 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. Ov ...

was extended in the following century. The church was restored by the architect Henry Prothero of Cheltenham in 1904, the work being paid for by Lord Tredegar. The work carried out included rebuilding the north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

. In doing this, two

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

effigies An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

were found, one being that of Anne Martel, and the other possibly of her husband, John. Also at this time a

squint Squinting is the action of looking at something with partially closed eyes. Squinting is most often practiced by people who suffer from refractive errors of the eye who either do not have or are not using their glasses. Squinting helps momentari ...

between the aisle and the chancel was revealed. Henry Jones (1812-1891) was married in the church in 1826. In 1845, at his Bristol-based bakery, Jones perfected, and patented, the recipe for

self-raising flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultur ...

. The church closed in 1973. It was acquired by the charity the Friends of Friendless Churches which holds a 999-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

with effect from 30 July 2008. The charity has undertaken restoration work costing £50,000. The church reopened to the public in July 2010 with a harp concert. Management of the building has passed to the Caldicot and District Local History Society. In addition to opening the church during the summer months to visitors, it is planned to organise events and exhibitions. The single bell dates from the late 15th century, and is attributed to Robert Hendley of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Architecture

The church is constructed mainly in

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

with ashlar dressings, the north aisle is in

lias Lias may refer to: Geology * Lias Formation, a geologic formation in France *Lias Group, a lithostratigraphic unit in western Europe * Early Jurassic, an epoch People * Godfrey Lias, British author * Mohd Shamsudin Lias (born 1953), Malaysian ...

, and the roofs are tiled. The plan consists of a

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 ...

with a north aisle and a south porch, a chancel that is longer and has a lower roof than the nave, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, with diagonal

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es, and an embattled

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

with

crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

ted pinnacles. In the top stage are double louvred bell openings, beneath which are

lancet windows A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet ...

. The interior is

limewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used. ...

ed, the floor is stone-flagged, and it contains stone benches. In the north wall are the remnants of steps that formerly led to loft of the rood screen. The square font dates from the 12th century. The effigies are both in shallow

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. In the chancel is the probable effigy of John Martel, who is dressed in

chain mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

with a sword and a shield; in the north aisle is the effigy of Anne Martel, dated 1270, with her arms crossed in prayer and her feet resting on a

lapdog A lap dog or lapdog is a dog that is both small enough to be held in the arms or lie comfortably on a person's lap and temperamentally predisposed to doing so. ''Lapdog'' is not a specific breed, but a generic term for a type of dog that is sma ...

. The church is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

Associated buildings

In the churchyard is a cross that is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

(MM325). The church forms part of a group of buildings that includes a farmhouse and other farm buildings, and is approached through a working farm. The farmhouse, Old Court Farm, a range of farm buildings, and the farm stables have all been designated as Grade II listed buildings by Cadw.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llanfihangel Rogiet, Saint Michael and All Angels 13th-century church buildings in Wales Grade II* listed churches in Monmouthshire Former churches in Wales Churches preserved by the Friends of Friendless Churches