Church of St David

The Church of St David is a parish church dating back to the medieval period, constructed of rubble stone with a stone-tiled roof. It comprises a small nave and chancel, a west porch, and a west bellcote. The bellcote was rebuilt in the 19th century and originally contained two bells dated 1598 and 1688; only one bell remains in 1999. The gables have renewed coping and a cross-finial at the east end. Windows are positioned on the south side and are of the Perpendicular style, with cusped tracery, flat heads, and hoodmoulds. The nave windows are generally two- or three-light, with the three-light window being a 19th-century replacement. The east window features ogee tracery and a flat head, but lacks a hoodmould. The north wall of the nave is windowless, although a timber lintel marks the location of a former opening. A Tudor-arched south doorway to the chancel has stone voussoirs and a plank door. A small, rectangular sunk panel with a chamfered surround is located at the west end. The C19 west porch is constructed of purple stone and features a chamfered pointed doorway, a small south window, and a plastered ceiling. It contains stone benches, shelves in the corners, and a chamfer with a pyramid stop to the west door, along with a bead-moulded plank door with strap hinges.

The church’s interior remains largely unrestored, preserving 18th-century fittings. The floor slopes downwards from west to east. Whitewashed plastered walls enclose a plastered segmental arch over the west door. The nave features a beam across the west end and a restored, panelled roof consisting of 4 bays by 7 panels, with 19th-century boarding within the panels. A plastered pointed arch defines the chancel. Fragments of the original rood loft survive, including a large moulded beam with five bead moulds and a groove beneath. Six of the original twelve loft front posts remain, along with paneling at the outer ends. A moulded top rail, with two bead moulds, sits above the posts, and a plain chamfered screen beam behind them is morticed for loft joists and grooved beneath. Of the former screen located below, only two moulded posts remain, likely not original but grooved for tracery, as well as a rail and part of an outer post. The church contains a set of early 19th-century box pews, with panelled doors and boarding to the dividers and dado. The north side has five pews, with the first and third being smaller and possessing benches on two sides; the others are three-sided. The south side features a large, four-sided pew, followed by a pulpit with a lectern in an enclosure, and a single bench pew. The five-sided pulpit is panelled and incorporates added book rests and buttress pieces. The chancel has a fine plaster-panelled roof with moulded ribs and a wallplate. Additional three-sided box pews are located on the north side. A late 17th-century communion rail, similar to those at Gwernesney, stands on two stone steps with turned balusters. A stone bench runs along the east wall, and a small, damaged piscina is set into the south wall. A square, chamfered font, with shaved angles creating a five-sided facet, sits near the altar. It lacks a shaft and has a square, tapered base with spur feet. An inscribed slab on the nave floor bears the initials W E (reversed) and the date 1595, along with a fleur-de-lys. Memorial floor slabs are located in the chancel and along the north wall, commemorating William Jones (d. 1829) in Forest of Dean stone, and William Probert (d. 1826), both crafted by G. Williams & Son, Usk.