St Tewdric's Church is a

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Mathern Mathern ( cy, Matharn; older form: ''Merthyr Tewdrig'') is a historic community (parish) and village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, about south west of the town of Chepstow, close to the Severn estuary, the Bristol Channel and the M48 mot ...

, Monmouthshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is purportedly built over the resting place of Saint Tewdrig for whom it is named. A church has been located on the site since the 6th century. It was reconstructed by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

in the Early English style, and later was renovated by the Victorians. It is a Grade I

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 ...

Foundation

According to the '' Liber Landavensis'', when King Tewdrig fell in battle against the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

at the River Wye, it was his desire to be buried on Ynys Echni; however the soldiers were unable to get his body there. Instead, he was buried at Mathern by his son

Meurig ap Tewdrig Meurig ap Tewdrig (Latin: ''Mauricius''; English: ''Maurice'') was the son of Tewdrig (St. Tewdric), and a King of the early Welsh Kingdoms of Gwent and Glywysing. He is thought to have lived between 400AD and 600AD, but some sources give more spec ...

. An oratory was built on top of his grave, and the land surrounding it was given to the Celtic Christian

Bishops of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of ...

. Nearby

Mathern Palace Mathern Palace is a Grade I listed building in the village of Mathern, Monmouthshire, Wales, located some south-west of Chepstow close to the Severn Estuary. Between about 1408 and 1705 it was the main residence of the Bishops of Llandaff. After f ...

was later built for the use of the bishops.

Mediaeval history

Following the

Norman conquest of Wales The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fervour and purpose ...

, the Celtic foundation was rebuilt in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in the Early English style. 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 ...

and

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 ...

arcades of the existing church date from those periods, so that "the interior is dominated by work of the C13," though the west pier of the north arcade dates from the previous century. In the words of architectural historian John Newman, it was later "grandiosely enlarged" by John Marshall, the Bishop of Llandaff between 1478 and 1496. Under his stewardship, the aisles were widened, a porch added on the south side, and the tower, built of ashlar blocks, was constructed.

Discovery of the coffin, and Victorian restoration

A stone coffin, thought to contain the remains of Tewdrig, was first discovered when

Francis Godwin Francis Godwin (1562–1633) was an English historian, science fiction author, divine, Bishop of Llandaff and of Hereford. Life He was the son of Thomas Godwin, Bishop of Bath and Wells, born at Hannington, Northamptonshire. He was the great ...

was bishop in 1614; at that time it was moved to the chancel. An urn containing the heart of another bishop, Miles Salley, was unearthed and reburied at the same time. In the 1880s, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

ordered a renovation of the church. John Prichard restored part of the church for £2,500.

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

later restored the chancel while rebuilding the south wall of the church and reroofing. During the renovation, the stone coffin was rediscovered under the altar, with a skeleton with the skull split by an axe blow, in the same way that Tewdrig supposedly died. However historian

Fred Hando Frederick James Hando MBE (23 March 1888 – 17 February 1970) was a Welsh writer, artist and schoolteacher from Newport. He chronicled the history, character and folklore of Monmouthshire, which he also called Gwent, in a series of nearly ...

claims from an eye-witness account that the skull only had a hole from a spear in it rather than an axe split. The remains were reinterred afterwards. On the wall of the chancel is a late 18th-century inscription noting that Tewdrig (Theodoric) is interred in the church, with an addendum noting the rediscovery of the coffin in 1881.

Fixtures

Following restorations, the church now has no visible elements of the original Celtic church. The oldest parts of the church are the arcades of the

and the arch over the

. In 1943, the original medieval font was rediscovered buried underneath the porch and reinstalled for use in the church. The church was granted Grade I listed status in 1955 for being "...a very fine medieval church with interesting Victorian alterations, and for its historic connection with the Bishops of Llandaff and their nearby Mathern Palace."

Gallery

File:St Tewric's tower from south west.jpg, Tower from south west File:St Tewdric's tower from porch.jpg, Tower from porch File:St Tewdric's tower with sundial.jpg, Tower with sundial File:St Tewdric's porch.jpg, Porch File:St Tewdric's from north.jpg, From the north File:St Tewdric's from north east.jpg, From the north east

References

External links

Artwork at St Tewdric's Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Tewdric's Church

Celtic Christianity 6th century in Wales