The Church of Saint Mary is 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 ...

in the town of

Kidwelly Kidwelly () is a town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The church was listed in December 1963 (Cadw Building ID: 11878). Founded c. 1114 the church was burnt down in 1223 and most of the existing building dates from c. 1320 when it was a Benedictine priory. It has been listed as the largest parish church in southwest Wales, exceptional for the

broach spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...

and fine decorative 14th-century Gothic detail.

History

It is believed that prior to 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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, St Mary's Church was originally made of wood and dedicated to St Cadog. In the early 12th century, it was granted by

Roger, Bishop of Salisbury Roger of Salisbury (died 1139), was a Norman medieval bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England. Life Roger was originally priest of a small chapel near Caen in Normandy. He was called "Roger, priest of th ...

to the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

to be used as a priory church. In 1223, the church burned down. This was believed to be done by supporters of

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...

due to the Benedictines closeness with the Anglo-Norman

Marcher Lords A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in France ...

. When it was rebuilt, it was enlarged and the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

used it as a base from which to monitor all Welsh monasteries. However it was a poor priory with only one monk living there in 1377. This was despite there being a recorded annual

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

income of £12 6s 12d in 1291. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, ownership was transferred to King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

of England. From there, Henry leased it out for 21 years. The church underwent Victorian renovations between 1885 and 1889. During these renovations, a 1762 organ case originally from

St Mary's Church, Swansea Swansea Minster (), or formally the Minster Church of St. Mary Swansea with Holy Trinity, and formerly St Mary's Church, is an Anglican Minster church in the centre of Swansea, Wales. It is considered the civic church of Swansea. It was designat ...

was installed in the church. The church was constructed with a spire that had been regularly struck by lightning throughout the centuries with four recorded lightning strikes, each one causing damage to the spire. The church was granted Grade I listed status in 1963. The reason for it being listed was given that it was the largest parish church in south-west Wales and due to its broach spire and gothic decor. In 2023, the church gave up some of its land in front of the church for redevelopment of Kidwelly town square.

Architecture

St Mary’s is an aisle-less cruciform church rebuilt c. 1320 in the Decorated Gothic style. It is constructed of rubble stone with Old Red Sandstone and oolitic limestone dressings, and comprises a four-bay

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 ...

, a three-bay

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 ...

, a south porch, a three-storey north-west tower, and a tall octagonal broach spire.

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 ...

calls it “the largest parish church in south-west Wales”, praising the spire and its “fine Decorated detail”.

References

External links

Artwork at Church of Saint Mary, Kidwelly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidwelly, Saint Mary Grade I listed churches in Carmarthenshire 14th-century church buildings in Wales

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...