The Church of St Bridget (or St Bride) lies at the north end of the village of

Skenfrith Skenfrith () is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. It is located on the River Monnow, close to the border between Wales and England, about north-west of Monmouth. History and amenities The Welsh placename ''Ynysgynwraidd'', ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales. It is an active parish church and a

Grade I 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, Hi ...

. The church is dedicated to St Brigit (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

: ''Sant Ffraid''), to whom 17 churches are dedicated across the country.

History

The church is

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

in origin, with the earliest parts believed to date from the reign of King John (1166–1216). It was extended in the fourteenth and again in the sixteenth century, sympathetically restored in 1896 and again in 1909–10. The dedication is to St Bridget. Services are held at the church every Sunday at 9.15.

Architecture and description

The church is constructed of

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

. It comprises a two-aisled

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 ...

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

and a West tower. The tower is topped by a

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...

belfry with a pyramidal roof. The interior contains the "very fine" chest tomb of John Morgan, died 1557, who was Member of Parliament for the

Monmouth Boroughs Monmouth Boroughs (also known as the Monmouth District of Boroughs) was a parliamentary constituency consisting of several towns in Monmouthshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliaments of England, ...

, Steward of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

and last Governor of the Three Castles, of

, Grosmont and White Castle. A lectern of 1909 by the

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

designer, George Jack, incorporates a figure of St Bridget. The church is a

, its listing describing St Bridget's as "an important medieval church with an exceptionally good interior".

Notes

References

* * {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , authorlink=John Newman (architectural historian) , series=The Buildings of Wales , title=Gwent/Monmouthshire , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&q=The+Buildings+of+Wales%3A+Gwent%2FMonmouthshire&pg=PA2 , year=2000 , publisher=Penguin , isbn=0-14-071053-1 Grade I listed churches in Monmouthshire Church in Wales church buildings in Monmouthshire