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Join in the national celebration of architecture and heritage in Wales during September!
Wales’s much-loved historic attractions are expected to welcome thousands of visitors during September 2021 as part of Open Doors — the largest heritage festival in Wales.
Thousands of people will step back in time during September 2021 as hundreds of venues across Wales open their doors, including several that are not normally open to the public.
Part of the wider European Heritage Days programme, Open Doors has seen hundreds of Welsh venues offer free entry, activities and events throughout September.
Wales is one of 50 countries taking part in Open Doors, known internationally as European Heritage Days. The programme is the largest annual free celebration of architecture and heritage to be held in Wales and the wider UK and the largest volunteer event in the heritage sector. It gives members of the public free access to fresh aspects of the built heritage and draws visitors to Wales from countries throughout the world.
Check the links below for opening times.
The redundant church of St David is in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
The church is largely from the fifteenth century: most of the windows and the screen and rood loft date from this century.
The font is another, very simple, medieval survival but the pewing and pulpit, and indeed the larger squire’s pew in the chancel, are all eighteenth century.
Free fact sheets on the history and conservation of the building will be available.
Address: St David's Church, Llangeview, Usk, Monmouthshire, NP15 1NF.
Directions - from Usk take the old Chepstow Road to the Olway Pub. Turn right, and follow the flood path for two miles. At the crossroads turn left. The church is set back behind the hedge.
The redundant church of St Jerome’s is renowned for its late 15th-century screen, one of the finest in southern Wales.
The 19th-century restoration was carried out between 1863 and 1878 and supervised by J.P. Seddon.
The early medieval ‘Green Men’ of St Jerome’s are also of exceptional interest, not least of all for their fine carving. It was these carvings which lead to the first coining of the name ‘Green Man’ in the 1930s by Lady Raglan. Prior to this, they had simply been known as “foliate heads”.
The church is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
Free fact sheets on the history and conservation of the building will be available.
Address: St Jerome, Llangwm Uchaf, Monmouthshire, NP15 1HA. SO 43291 00557.
Off B4235. Note: SatNav takes you to the other church in the village. To find St Jerome's - continue east along the road which winds to the church.
Very steep stepped access down to church. Parking limited.
St Michael and All Angels is Grade I listed, and located in the peaceful setting of Llantrisant Fawr, Monmouthshire.
The south doorway, the elements of the lancet windows, and the east window with two trefoil-headed lights, place the building's origins in the 13th or early 14th-century.
The variety of windows creates an interesting architectural collage; small, heavily-eroded carved stone heads project from the west gable; the rood-beam and screen at the chancel arch dominate the interior; the 15th-century rood-beam retains a foliate trail of carved decoration.
The wagon roof is panelled with moulded ribs and dates to the 15th-century.
The church of St Michael and Angels, Gwernesney, which came into the care of The Friends of Friendless Churches in late 2017, is now open for visitors. Gwernesney (‘Gwernesni’) translates as the parish of the alders, named after the alder trees (‘gwern’) that once grew there in great abundance.
The church is 13th century in origin, with an evocative 15th century wagon roof and rood-beam.
Urgent repairs have recently been completed – upgrading the rainwater and drainage system and rebuilding the window masonry. More repairs will be needed eventually, but the building is now open for all to enjoy!
Address - Chepstow Road, Usk, Gwernesney, Monmouthshire, NP15 1HE.
Directions - take the M4 to Monmouthshire; take exit 2 from M48; drive to B4235; Gwernesney is signposted.
This historic building has a stepped entrance.
This redundant church, in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches, is a medieval building, with a north aisle of 1904. There are two (rather battered) medieval effigies inside said to be of the Martels.
The most famous resident of this very small parish was Henry Jones, whose chief claim to fame was as the inventor of self-raising flour.
The church will be open for visitors, and will have short guides available for visitors to read in the church and to take home.
Address: St Michael and All Saints Church, Llanfihangel Rogiet, Caldicot, Monmouthshire, NP26 3UR.
Directions - leave M4 at Junction 23A; onto B4245 – through Magor and Undy. Under M4 – church on left.
The church is located in a working farmyard. Visitors are asked to respect this.
Parking is in the small lay-by outside the entrance to the farmyard.
St. Teilo's is a listed grade 2* church, dating mainly from the mid-16th century. It stands in the centre of Llanarth village, and is surrounded by over an acre of churchyard.
The church was declared redundant in 2013 because the congregation could not undertake necessary repairs. For over eight years, the church has stood empty, closed and neglected. The churchyard has a listed cross and grave of Elizabeth Jones (1787) and an ancient yew tree.
Open Doors is an opportunity to see the interior of the church from its three doorways and to appreciate the range of flora and fauna in the surrounding churchyard.
The Trust's plans for restoring and re-purposing the church will be on view, along with a sustainable management plan for the large churchyard. The plans for the building include a Columbarium and Bell Ringing School and modern amenities for a range of community and commercial uses.
Trust members will be on hand to answer questions and afternoon teas will be served in the nearby Village Hall.
Directions - take A40 from Monmouth or from Abergavenny and, at Raglan roundabout, take B road signposted to Clytha. Continue to turning signposted Llanarth and follow the road to the Village Hall and the church.
Parking for the church is at Church Farm, a short walk away, and there is ample parking at the Village Hall. Disabled parking is available at the church by emailing village.alive@btinternet.com in advance.
Stout footwear is needed to explore the churchyard.
Grade I listed medieval church which was rebuilt in the 1800s, carefully reusing some of the earlier fabric – such as the 15th-century rood-screen, stained glass and tracery.
In 1885 the vicar’s wife, Rosamund Lindsay, died and her husband decorated the interior in her memory. The artist Heywood Sumner introduced sgraffito panels, taking The Benedicite as his theme. True to medieval tradition, Sumner included local features in his designs - eg the nearby River Usk and the Sugar Loaf are included.
The church was proposed for demolition but a hard-fought battle eventually led to its protection.
This church, which is not open to the public regularly, will be open on Sunday 8 September.
Information guides will be available for visitors to read and take home.
Address: St Mary's Church, Llanfair Kilgeddin, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 9BG. SO 357 087.
In Llanfair Kilgeddin on B4598 take the turning opposite the Village Hall and the church is clearly visible in its large churchyard. Disabled access is possible.
Llwyn Celyn is a Grade 1 listed medieval building. Once part of the Llanthony Priory estate it was built in the late 15th century. Llwyn Celyn sits on a hillside at the mouth of the Llanthony Valley, a few mile from the ruins of the priory. The valley has for centuries attracted poets, artist and romantics and witnessed the struggles between English and Welsh rule. Our project has not just saved the site, but also tells its history - the story of the people who inhabited it during times of political upheaval and agricultural change.
Be the first to see a site-specific artwork by artist Laura Wilson commissioned by The Landmark Trust. 'To the Wind's Teeth' (2021) will be on display in the Threshing Barn throughout the weekend. The work follows Wilson’s exploration into the process of bread making and investigating how the body learns, adapts, responds to and performs manual work, posing questions around labour, regaining lost skills, the link between food and wellbeing, and passing on knowledge through embodied practice.
The Landmark Trust is opening Llwyn Celyn in association with Cadw Open Doors. *Entry is free but your visit must be pre-booked via EventBrite* Your timed ticket allows you access to the house, but you are welcome to arrive at any time and enjoy the grounds/activities.
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