Church of St Margaret of Antioch

Church of St Margaret of Antioch

A parish church built in rubble stone with slate roofs and coped shouldered gables finished with cross finials. Stone gutters are carried on corbels. The building comprises a western tower, nave, south porch, chancel and a north vestry with organ chamber.

The western tower is constructed in grey stone and is thin with a battered base. Its western front features four narrow loops arranged vertically. The tower top has a 19th-century gabled roof with stone gutters on the north and south sides, overhanging to east and west. The south side of the tower contains a small 20th-century lower window and two loops above it, with the uppermost loop fitted with louvres. The north side is similar. The nave's south stonework has been largely renewed. A large 19th-century south porch features a pointed arch with stone voussoirs. It has a 19th-century rafter roof and stone seats within, with a glazed inner screen. The inner south door is 19th-century with a painted ashlar surround, incised inscription, hoodmould and carved head stops, together with a board door bearing elaborate wrought iron hinges. Large flush windows of 1867 are positioned on each side—a 2-light window to the left and a 3-light window to the right—both with simple chamfers to the lights and sandstone surrounds banded in red. An attached monument to Phillip and Zacharia Price (died 1623) is possibly late 17th-century, marked with an hourglass. The north side of the nave has a 19th-century trefoil-headed single light window to the left, lighting the pulpit. The south side of the chancel has a small projection at its extreme left with stone sloping coping and a tiny medieval single light. A similar but larger medieval light window appears to the right. An attached memorial commemorates four children of Joseph Howell (died 1816–30). The east end has an ogee-traceried 2-light window, possibly early 15th-century. A pierced 19th-century Celtic cross roundel occupies the apex. The north side of the chancel has a 2-gabled projecting organ chamber and vestry, each gable containing a Y-tracery 2-light window, with a tiny trefoil-headed window to the west. The east side features a wall-face chimney in ashlar with chamfered angles to the right of a pointed door with rock-faced stone voussoirs. A small 19th-century outbuilding to the right of the door has an east end coped gable and a small window, with a door on the north side bearing stone voussoirs.

Interior walls are whitewashed and plastered, with tiled floors and open timber roofs. The nave has a 4-bay roof of arch-braced collar trusses with corbels and brattishing to the collars. A gable-headed stoup stands next to the south door. A pointed narrow west door leads into the tower. The tower interior is unfloored. A plastered pointed chancel arch carries an incised inscription over it. Two low whitewashed ashlar walls stand within the chancel arch, their coping gabled with brattishing. The chancel has a more elaborate roof of 3 bays with arch braces forming pointed arches under collars, king posts above and braces rising to the ridge beam. An organ recess is positioned to the north. Three fine fossiliferous marble steps lead to the sanctuary. The chancel's south wall contains a recess with a cambered head. A pointed door to the vestry opens from the north wall. The vestry has a 3-sided boarded roof and an east wall fireplace with an iron grate. A north-facing pointed window, similar to the south window, is now internal, opening into the vestry. The sanctuary contains some encaustic tiles. The east wall features a chamfered pointed recess to the left, with pyramid stops to the chamfers.

The seven-sided medieval stone font has scalloped decoration to its round shaft and a 19th-century base. A High Victorian stone drum pulpit, now whitewashed, has a moulded base over a squat half-round pier, with bands of flush grey stone at top and bottom inset with flush quatrefoils and roundels. A moulded top cornice rises from the south side via steps with a gabled tiny buttress and wrought iron rails decorated with brass flowers. The hand-rail has a carved end stop. Pews have shaped ends and pegged joints with horizontally-boarded back panels. Chancel stalls and reading desks date to 1867. Fine wrought iron sanctuary rails feature 5 arches of scrolled iron with fleurs de lys in the spandrels and a twisted horizontal bar joining the uprights.

Stained glass windows include a 1960 2-light window in the nave south showing "I am the Resurrection" with Christ and St Mary Magdalen. A 3-light window to the south shows three panels on a clear ground commemorating Rev John Evans (died 1928). A north single light depicts the Ascension to G. Lloyd (died 1950). The east window, 2 lights of 1867 possibly by Wailes, contains two panels of Christ stilling the waters. The chancel south window has patterned quarries of circa 1867. The vestry has a 1998 north window, a 2-light Nativity by Janet Hardy. Memorials on the north side include plaques to William and Martin James of Great House (died 1803 and 1806), John Rees (died 1832) and Sarah Rees, née James (died 1843).

The organ was built by F. E. Wade of Tenby in 1899.