History

Anglican parish church, C12 origins, first mentioned 1210, but mostly rebuilt in C19 apart from tall C15 tower. The tower is stone vaulted and has traceried bell-lights, similar to those at Johnston and Steynton. Body of the church rebuilt first in the C17, then in 1853-5 leaving only a part of the S wall possibly early medieval. The chancel was wholly new. A W gallery had been inserted in 1820 by Joseph Mathias, and in the earlier C19 the tower W door and window were inserted. The work of 1853-5 was probably by E. M. Goodwin who drew up plans in 1851. It cost £1,200. The tomb of Richard le Palmer was found under the floor. New seating, a marble font and organ were installed in this restoration. N aisle added with porch, vestry and organ chamber 1881 by E.H. Lingen Barker of Hereford, probably replacing an original aisle as footings for one had been found. The E window, chancel tiles and pulpit were inserted then. The work cost £1,200. The carved wood reredos was added in the early C20 by J. Coates Carter.
The church of one of three medieval churches in Haverfordwest, the only Welsh town to have so many.

Exterior

Anglican parish church, rubble stone with slate roofs and coped gables. Late medieval W tower, nave and chancel of 1853-5, N porch, N aisle and N vestry of 1881. Tall W tower, with corbelled embattled parapet and polygonal NE stair tower. W front of tower refaced in squared grey limestone in earlier C19 when two thin diagonal buttresses were added in tooled grey stone and a large Perpendicular Gothic 3-light panel-traceried W window was added above W door recessed under segmental-pointed arch with tooled grey stone voussoirs. Doorway is C19 ashlar segmental pointed, hollow-moulded. Board doors with iron scrolled hinges. The heraldic stone reset above was in a large W porch before 1853. String course above renewed stonework and small rectangular light at this level each face, and two-light pointed bell-light with cusped lights and quatrefoil in head. Stone voussoirs. Stair tower has numerous small ashlar lights.
Nave has long roof over N aisle interrupted by four gables, one for projecting porch and three over large pointed 3-light traceried windows. Porch has moulded pointed entry. Nave S is plain with three C19 pointed 3-light Perpendicular gothic style windows. Chancel has large gabled vestry projecting on N with NE corner chimney, small 2-light N window with Caernarfon-type stepped heads to lights, and a pointed panel in gable with bi-colour voussoirs framing a small quatrefoil. E end has large 3-light pointed window with big sexfoil in head, hoodmould and stone voussoirs. Chancel S has one 2-light pointed window.

Interior

Whitewashed plastered walls, open roofs. Seven-bay N arcade with hoodmoulds and carved foliage stops. Chancel arch on corbelled wall-shafts with big heavily-carved capitals.
Fittings: White marble font 1854, by E. M. Goodwin, given by G. Lort Phillips; pulpit, 1881, pierced stone with marble colonettes; reredos 1921 by Coates Carter, triptych with outer shutters, uncoloured figures and texts.
Stained glass: E window 1881 by Mayer of Munich, Crucifixion; nave S window c. 1868 by Cox & Sons, Crucifixion.
Memorials: C14 or early C15 slab to Richard le Palmer with a Latin cross in relief defaced head above, inscription in Norman French. John Bernardiston and family, c. 1734, large tablet framed by drapery, with cherub heads; Owen Phillips, died 1724 and Elinor Phillips died 1748, with side scrolls and broken pediment, by Thomas Beard of London; Elizabeth Eliot, 1780, with mourning female in classical landscape; William Jordan and family, c. 1802, garlanded cartouche; Owen Phillips died 1846, lozenge shaped in a pedimented frame, by J. Phillips of Haverfordwest; John Lort and family, 1848, by H. Phillips of Haverfordwest, draped urn with shield below; Richard Phillips died 1860, marble scroll, by T. Gaffin of London; Peregrine Lort-Phillips died 1861, scroll-type, by Bedford; Chambers family, 1852-72, free standing marble statue of praying woman against a tall pedestal, by Sanders of London.

Reasons for Listing

Included for its special historic interest as a town church with late medieval W tower and with good monuments from the C14-15 to C19.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29490348

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)