Church of St Michael

Church of St Michael

This is a Grade I listed church built primarily of rubble stone with pink stone dressings and slate roofs. The building comprises a single-roofed nave and chancel, a south aisle of equal length, and a west tower, with construction spanning the 14th to 15th centuries. The nave and chancel are probably 14th century, the tower is late 14th or early 15th century, and the south aisle dates to the mid to late 15th century.

The tower is of a plan Carmarthenshire type, with the base battered on the west side only, a corbelled parapet and battlements. The west side features a Tudor-arched doorway of the 15th century. On three sides are single segmental-pointed bell-lights and mid-height single louvered lights with cambered heads; the east side has two-light similar bell-lights. The ground floor is vaulted, and the battered west end of the nave visible from inside shows that the tower was added later. A pointed inner west door survives.

The north side of the nave has four windows, all renewed in 1905 to 1909. The outer windows are ogee-traceried 3-light designs with hoodmoulds, whilst the inner two are simpler 2-light windows with hoods. Between the first and second windows is a pointed-arched 14th-century doorway leading to a stairway within the northwest angle of the nave, which ascends to the first level of the tower. On the nave's west end is a slate plaque of 1834 commemorating the Price family of Bwlchtrebannau. Between the first and second windows on the north side is a double slate plaque of 1846 to Reverend M R Davys, signed by D Beynon. Between the third and fourth windows is a plaque to Ann Jones of Ystradwallter (died 1788), and at the northeast end is a carved shield with a lion quartered with three horses' heads (possibly Lloyd) over an eroded plaque of 1701. The east end has a 15th-century window with three plain arch-headed lights in pink conglomerate stone, with a battered base to the wall below.

The south aisle's east end features a 15th-century 3-light window with a hoodmould and a crude pair of gargoyle heads with a centre head boss. The aisle walls have battered bases. The south side has four 2-light windows with hoodmoulds; three are original and one dates to 1906. The original windows are in pink stone. Between the third and fourth windows is an ashlar doorway dated 1906. Between the second and third windows is a large plaque to Ann Morgans, circa 1830, by D Beynon, and between the third window and door is a slate plaque to John Price of Cwmcroyddin (died 1768). The west end of the aisle has a sub-classical 2-light window with shouldered arched heads, possibly early 19th century, beneath a crude 15th-century hoodmould with a carved gargoyle key and stops.

The interior shows a 15th-century arcade of five bays dividing the nave and aisle, with octagonal piers and single-chamfer arches. The capitals are plain, with feet broached to square bases. The nave roof appears to be of 1906 but retains parts of a plain 17th-century collar truss roof featuring triple-purlin, 8½ arch-braced collar trusses. The northwest corner of the nave is walled off for the stair to the tower, an unusual arrangement. There is no chancel division, though the fifth pier of the arcade is thickened. The south aisle features a fine 15th-century wagon roof of 66 unplastered panels with moulded longitudinal ribs and renewed leaf bosses.

Fittings and Furnishings

The first pier of the arcade unusually holds an inset 13th or 14th-century decagonal bowl font with a decagonal shaft featuring hollowed faces except for a flat west face. Pews, stalls, reading desk, pulpit, rails, altar table, chancel south screen, aisle east screen and attached vestry screen were all installed in 1906 by Caroe in simple detail. The pulpit is 5-sided and raised on legs, with rails on tapering columns. An earlier 19th-century family pew remains at the east end of the south aisle.

Stained Glass

The chancel east window is a 3-light Last Supper of 1876 by T Baillie. The nave north window is a 3-light of circa 1893, possibly by Mayer, remodelled in 1906. The aisle west window is a 2-light of 1887 by Hardman in 16th-century style.

Monuments

A marble scroll monument to Walter Price of Bwlchtrebannau (died 1848), circa 1870 by G Maile, is dislodged on the tower floor. In the nave west is a rustic slate plaque to Richard Davies of Killwen (died 1764). The nave north wall has two large plaques circa 1848 and circa 1854 by D Beynon with draped urns to W P Jeffreys and Rear Admiral D P Price. Monuments to William Jones of Ystradwallter (died 1815) and his wife (died 1843) feature a draped urn. Ann Jones of Blaenose (died 1844) has a gothic plaque by J E Thomas; David Jones of Blaenose (died 1840) is also commemorated by J E Thomas. Beneath is a fine half-relief mourning female figure of circa 1840, probably by J E Thomas, commemorating John Jones of Blaenose (died 1813). The nave east wall displays a large marble low relief oval of angels, circa 1869, to William Jones of Henllys (died 1844) and family. Mary Lloyd of Mandinam (died 1732) is commemorated by a broken pedimented monument by J Arthur of Cilycwm. In the south aisle, a marble scroll to E Jenkins (died 1874) is by D Beynon; the south wall has a marble scroll to Mary Ann Jones of Penybont (died 1867); a marble memorial with mourning female, urn and broken column to Daniel Jones of Penybont (died 1862) is by Lewis of Cheltenham. In the south vestry is a gothic monument to D Saunders of Dugoedydd (died 1865) by D Beynon. At the east end is a large early 19th-century 2-tier plaque with urn to the Davys family of Neuadd Fawr (died 1767–1850s); in a window splay is an 1857 plaque to the 18th-century Jones family of Neuadd Fawr.

Wall Paintings

The church has an exceptional series of wall paintings apparently of 1724 in the south aisle, though an 1795 date also appears; all were heavily over-painted in 1986. On the west wall is a skeleton with spear. On the south wall, from west: a text largely obscured by the D Jones monument showing Psalm 84 verse 10; a cartouche with dedication reading "R Jones and T Price, churchwardens and John Arthur pinxerunt 1724"; a large double-framed Ten Commandments supported by a bearded figure (possibly Aaron) to the left, with the date 1795 beneath; and a framed text of the Creed, partly hidden behind the D Saunders monument. On the east wall right is a framed text of 1 Peter 2:17. In the gable is a very large Hanoverian royal arms with supporters. Over-painting may not be reliable for all words and details.