St Mary Magdalene's Church stands in the village of

Goldcliff Goldcliff () is a village, parish and community to the south east of the city of Newport in South Wales. It lies within the Newport city boundaries in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Administratively, ...

, to the southeast of the city of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, Wales. An active

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

and a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, it is situated directly behind the Farmer's Arms public house.

History

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 ...

dates the church to the 12th century. It was rebuilt in the 14th century and afterwards, possibly using material from

Goldcliff Priory Goldcliff Priory was a Benedictine monastery in Goldcliff, near Newport, South Wales. It was established in 1113 by Robert de Chandos as a subsidiary house of the Abbey of Bec in Normandy.Williams, D. H., (1970) "Goldcliff Priory", The Monmou ...

after that was destroyed in a storm in 1424. The priory had been given to

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

by Henry VI shortly after he had founded the school in 1440, and the connection between the church and the college continued into the early 20th century. The tower is probably an 18th- or 19th-century addition. It contains one bell, recast by Taylors of Loughborough in 1969. In the 19th century, the church was subject to an "austere"

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 literatur ...

reconstruction. The church contains a plaque, installed by the

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

s in 1609, commemorating the losses, material and human, which occurred during the

1607 Bristol Channel floods The Bristol Channel floods of 30 January 1607 drowned many people and destroyed a large amount of farmland and livestock during a flood in the Bristol Channel. The known tide heights, probable weather, extent and depth of flooding, and coastal f ...

. It also has a modest memorial to the three men of Goldcliff who died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. There is a medieval

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

with an 18th-century cover. The church is described by local 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 ...

in his 1958 ''Out and About in Monmouthshire''. He includes a sketch of the church, with its avenue of

pollarded Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice h ...

lime trees ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

and notes that above the porch is a sundial inscribed "C.W. 1729". St Mary Magdalene's is an active

within the Netherwent Ministry Area, which covers the area between Newport and

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

, from

Portskewett Portskewett ( or ) is a village and Community (Wales), community (parish) in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located four miles south west of Chepstow and one mile east of Caldicot, Monmouthshire, Caldicot, in an archaeologically sensitiv ...

and Sudbrook on the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

in the east to Nash on the Gwent Levels in the west. Services are held fortnightly.

Architecture and description

The

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...

echoes Cadw's description of the Victorian efforts, considering them an "austere" example of the Decorated

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

. The church is of stone with a slate roof. The

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

ed tower is of three storeys. The church is a

. Its churchyard cross 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, visu ...

Gallery

File:St Marys Goldcliff.jpg, Church tower File:South Porch, St Mary Magdalene's, Goldcliffe - geograph.org.uk - 5368099.jpg, South Porch, with avenue of lime trees File:Interior of Goldcliff Parish Church - geograph.org.uk - 754593.jpg, Church interior File:754586 a96910f6.jpg, Brass plaque for the 1607 Great Flood

Notes

References

{{City of Newport Church in Wales church buildings in Newport Grade II listed churches in Newport, Wales Landmarks in Newport, Wales