Church of Saint Matthew

Church of Saint Matthew

This is a parish church built in rubble stone with imitation stone tile roofing. It comprises a medieval west tower, a broad nave with a single roof spanning both nave and south aisle, a lower chancel, and a south porch.

The west tower is medieval up to ridge level, constructed with large red sandstone corner stones and a slightly battered base. A single small ground floor loop opening is on the west face. The south side has two inserted red sandstone chamfered lancet windows, one at each level. A string course runs above, surmounting a slightly set-back rebuilt upper part featuring plain chamfered lancets on each side with leaded glazing. A coved string course sits above this with stone waterspouts—two on the south, two broken on the north, one on the west. The top is possibly formerly embattled, with two square louvred openings on each face, beneath the eaves of a tiled pyramid roof.

The north wall of the nave has a medieval, possibly 14th-century, pointed chamfered grey stone doorway to the right with a plank door and strap hinges, with rough voussoirs above. A 14th-century flush 2-light window with cusped heads to the lights and a small lozenge-shaped light in the head follows, then two large 15th-century Perpendicular style 3-light pointed windows with recessed hollow mouldings, ogee heads to the lights, and panel tracery in the head. The second window is positioned at the angle to a rood-stair projection, which has a tiny lancet at its top left. The south wall of the nave (actually the south aisle wall) has a similar Perpendicular style window to the left of the large gabled porch, and two to the right with much-renewed tracery.

The porch has a 15th-century large moulded pointed south arch with a hollow-ovolo-hollow profile and bargeboards to the gable. Inside the porch is a stone floor, stone seats, and a fine 13th-century pointed south doorway with two corner roll mouldings and a hollow between them, fitted with a big plank door and cover strips. A half-octagonal stoup to the right is chamfered below, with a small pointed arch to the recess. A square recess sits above the doorway. A plaque commemorates David Watkins of Maesycoed, died 1792. The porch features a 15th-century roof with nine arch-braced collar trusses, five of them ovolo-moulded. The east side wall of the porch has a plaque to John Jenkins of Felin Newydd, died 1832. A single long roof slope covers both nave and aisle. The east wall shows evidence of alteration and includes a 15th-century similar Perpendicular style 3-light window to the aisle and a small flat-headed 2-light in the gable above the chancel ridge, with arched lights.

The chancel has two flat-headed recessed hollow-moulded 3-light windows with four-centred arched heads to the lights. To the right of the left window is a narrow four-centred arched doorway with a plank door and cover strips. A plaque commemorates Thomas Bevan of Trehenry, died 1767, by Games. The east end has a large renewed Perpendicular style recessed 4-light window similar to those in the nave. Plaques to Mary Jones of Pantycored, died 1767, by T. Games, and another with an eroded name, died 1767 of Ysgubor Newydd, are present. The north wall is windowless, with a blocked square-headed opening.

Interior

The walls are plastered. The nave and chancel have broad 15th-century panelled barrel roofs, and the aisle has a lean-to ceiling. The nave roof comprises 13 by 6 panels with moulded ribs and three massive tie-beams on crude oak console brackets. Stone flagged floors cover the floor. A small chamfered pointed west doorway into the tower, fitted with a plank door, is present. An arcade of four bays with double-chamfered pointed arches on octagonal piers with chamfered plinths and moulded caps divides the nave from the aisle. Two steps cross right across the nave and aisle. The nave has a door at the west end of the north wall, reached up five steps, with a cambered-headed reveal. A cambered head appears to a medieval north window. A fragment of painted decoration is visible between the two nave north windows, in the nave northeast corner, and on the nave south wall. The south aisle has a segmental pointed reveal to the south door. Panelled dado runs along the nave and aisle, probably 19th-century in date but incorporating, behind the aisle altar, some panels marked WVA 1687, said to come from former box pews.

Two steps up, beyond the pulpit, a Tudor arched north door leads to the rood stair. Stone stairs run in the wall thickness, curving at the top to an upper square-headed opening lit by a rectangular light.

A broad chancel arch with two chamfers, dying into jambs, features a fine oak screen (see fittings below). The chancel floor is slightly lower and stone flagged. The ceiling comprises 10 by 8 panels. Flat heads appear to the two south windows. Two steps lead to a stone flagged sanctuary with 17th-century altar rails and a 20th-century altar. A medieval stoup in the south wall has a rounded bowl and an ovol-moulded triangular-headed small recess.

Fittings

A massive and crude grey stone 12th-century font bowl sits on a rubble stone square platform. A fine 14th-century oak screen, lacking its rood loft, comprises nine bays with a wider centre opening and four openings on each side, featuring a broad mid rail and panelling below. The square heads of all openings have delicate tracery to an X pattern, with cusping below and small roundels with quatrefoils in the three triangles created. The mullions between openings are moulded with a front roll and ogee sides. The top rail features vine scroll decoration.

A mid-19th-century carved wood altar at the east end of the aisle is in 3 panels with pierced naturalistic leaf and fruit decoration and IHS in a centre roundel. A 20th-century limed oak main altar in the style of W. D. Caroe stands in the chancel. Altar rails with thick turned balusters in a barley-sugar twist on a vase pattern, and a moulded rail, date to circa 1660, with gates altered later. Plain 19th-century pews furnish the church. A plain earlier 19th-century pulpit, five-sided with raised Tudor panels and a panelled plinth, is said to have been part of a three-decker pulpit.

Memorials and Monuments

The nave south wall bears monuments to Elizabeth Griffin Williams of Bryndu, died 1840, and Thomas Williams, died 1848, in plain marble, under stone plaques from the 1820s with delicate low relief detail to other family members. The chancel south wall has a 19th-century stone plaque listing benefactors. An east wall marble plaque commemorates Rev. Charles Vaughan, died 1851, by Thomas of Brecon. Plaques propped against the north wall include those to Mary Hopkins, died 1801, and to Philip Jones, died 1753, and his son, died 1776, by Powel.

On the north wall, from east, the following memorials appear: A Neo-Grec plaque with draped urn to Rev. Thomas James, died 1842; a painted plaque with oval to Roderick Gwynne of Llyswen, died 1780, by Powel of Talgarth; a long plaque to John Griffin of Kington, his family, and Thomas Williams of Bryndu, died 1796; a plaque above with a winged cherub head to Benjamin Williams, died 1742, by T. Brute; a large painted marbled plaque with broken pediment and arms to Thomas Williams of Felin Newydd, died 1779, by Powel; a plaque with draped urn above to Thomas Williams of Felin Newydd, died 1790, and his son, died 1803, by Hughes; a well-lettered plaque to Thomas Williams, died 1730, and his wife, died 1739, by T. Brute; a plaque below to Philip Price of Penheoleinion, died 1776, by Powel.

Stained Glass

The east window of the south aisle contains broken fragments of late medieval glass, reset in 1949.