Church of Saint Jerome, Llangwm, Pembrokeshire

History

Anglican parish church of St Jerome or St Hierom, medieval, heavily remodelled in C19 but retaining in N transept important remnants of the family chapel of the de Roch or de la Rupe family, C13-14. Thomas de la Roche, according to Fenton was the last, dying in 1386, but E. Lluyd c. 1686 noted a lost inscription to Thomas Roche of Roch died at Haroldston 1409. The S transept has a plastered stone vault. The church was repaired 1839-40 by W. Lewis, builder for £300. A ground plan shows a new S door at the left end of S side, and the opposed former N and S doors closed up. Described in 1856 by Sir S. Glynne as 'so modernised externally as almost to discourage any examination of the interior'. The exterior was then roughcast and the interior painted red. Restored 1879-82 by E. H. Lingen Barker such that externally the detail is all C19. He took down a W gallery, added the S porch, rebuilt the bellcote, rebuilt the gables to steeper pitch with new roofs of Whitland Abbey slate (since replaced), and added 8 new windows in Forest of Dean stone. The cost was £810 or £1100. Organ inserted in 1891 by a local company of which the rector of Angle was managing director and the E window to the Rev T. Williams was inserted in 1908. Squint re-opened 1910, when the bowl of a picina was found within.

Exterior

Parish church, rubble stone with ashlar dressings and slate roofs with coped gables. Crested ridge tiles and cross finials. Nave with W bellcote and S porch, N transept or Roch chapel, smaller S transept and chancel. 1879 windows are cusped with foiled circles in heads of the two and three-light windows, and stone voussoirs. Nave W end has sides stepped out as buttresses, C19 2-light pointed window and C19 steep-gabled W bellcote with one pointed opening and cross finial. C19 S porch with pointed entry with hoodmould, coped gable and cross finial, and sloping side buttresses. Pointed door within set to left. C19 2-light window to right (site of former door). S transept has coped gable, cross finial and similar S window. E side has blocked square opening with dripstone and relieving arch. Chancel S has C19 cusped lancet, possibly in blocked door, blocked lancet in angle to left. C19 E 3-light pointed window with sexfoil in head. Nave N has C19 2-light (site of former door). N transept has no windows to W, E end C14 to early C15 eroded 2-light with ogee heads to lights and ogee quatrefoil in head. In angle to chancel is diagonal walling with tiny squint light. Chancel N has two C19 cusped lancets.

Interior

Plastered walls, segmental-pointed heads to window reveals and roofs on corbels, all later C19. N and S windows in positions of original opposed doors. The best surviving medieval structural feature is the low two-bay arcade to the N transept, C15 with pointed arches: inner chamfer and outer recessed convex moulding. Centre octagonal pier with moulded capital of two convex mouldings separated by a concave one. The E arch is cut away for the squint, and the arch end has carved shield with horizontal bars (Barri family) and 2 small shields each with diagonal bar (bend sinister). On transept side above arcade are two pointed arches carrying thicker wall above.
N transept has high C19 roof. On E wall is a carved canopied piscina of crude but elaborate detail. Half-round pedestal replacing original which is on the adjacent window sill. This has three blank shields to front and interlinked pairs of circles in band down each side, separated by holly leafs (illustration in Fenton 2nd ed. shows also a base with blank shields). The curved front of the bowl also has 3 blank shields and niche has 3 shields on convex-moulded jambs and triangular head with two shields on each convex-moulded edge. Projecting canopy is flat topped with cusped ogee arches on all three faces, blank shields in spandrels and an crude finial in relief against wall above: tall and thin with an ogee-pointed panel at base and diminutive crockets. Within niche is a shelf with reeded edge. On E wall is very fine pair of C14 tomb recesses with ogee arches, heavy cusping and crockets each topped by a large crude finial. In centre and each side are thin short piers with bases and shallow quatrefoils on square caps, and tall crocketted finials above. The continuous tomb chest has a band of diagonally-set pointed quatrefoils, a thin band of paired linked circles with little plant motifs between each pair, and top band of shields in pointed quatrefoils separated by piers with tiny roundels. Effigies are a female to left (moved here from chancel since 1811) in draped cloak with feet on an animal and finely carved knight in armour to right. Knight has chain-mail to neck, plate armour to arms, short surcoat, shield, hand on sword, crossed legs with plate armour, mailed spurred feet on lion. Helmed head rests on large helmet with crest of a bird.
S transept has pointed arch to plastered pointed medieval vault. Low corbel on E wall in corner. Chancel has broad pointed plain arch, 3-bay C19 roof on stone corbels with conical pendants. N window has moulded stone sill, that may be medieval.
Fittings: medieval font, square, splayed below to large round stem, on C19 base (font is described as scallopped in 1856). Ornate later C19 ashlar pulpit with open octagonal front of Gothic columns with marble shafts, one bay has marble angel under cusped pointed arch supporting bookrest. Ashlar column base and flying steps up. Pine pews, the front kneeler pierced with quatrefoils, pine stalls with similar pierced sexfoils. C20 altar rails reusing two later C19 wrought iron standards. Organ of 1891 in N transept.
Memorials: plaque with dove to Wilson family to 1893. Brass plaque to E G Williams died at Durbungah 1891. Marble neo-Grec plaque to Augusta Williams died at Calcutta 1872 and to family of Rev T. Williams died 1882, by T. Morgan & Son of Haverfordwest.
Stained Glass. E window 1908, 'Feed My Sheep'.
Incised stone: by S transept, a stone with incised cross, the head in a circle with cusps between the arms. Another with head only with more pronounced cusping.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a much restored church of medieval origins specially notable for the fine C14 tombs and piscina in the N transept.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.