Church of St. Womar, Martletwy, Pembrokeshire

History

The church probably dates from the time when it was granted by Robert son of Lomer to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem at Slebech, in 1150. The grant included the tithes of the parish, and Minwear evidently became demesne land of the Order, which also had an important establishment in the same parish now known as the Sisters' House. The low round chancel arch, though now plastered and featureless, appears basically to be of Norman date and if so implies that the church consisted originally of nave and chancel, or originally of nave only but enlarged with a chancel at a very early date. The nave S doorway also appears to survive from the original church.

The N entrance to the nave, the N aisle, S transept and tower appear to have been early additions. The N aisle may be contemporary with the chancel. The font is no earlier than the C14, and this may alternatively be the period when the church was enlarged, including a rebuild of the chancel. The S transept is very small and may have been little more than a tomb recess, but it has a squint for view to the altar.

The order of St John was ejected from Slebech and its other possessions at the time of the Dissolution, in 1540. The possessions were then sold to Barlow of Slebech. The church continued in use as the parish church, but the village connected to it (which survived to the C19) has disappeared, leaving only a farm hamlet.

Repairs to the church were carried out at various dates from 1738 to 1821. This is perhaps the period when the high openings over the chancel arch were cut. In 1836, during the incumbency of the Rev. James Williams, Baron de Rutzen obtained a faculty and a grant from the Commissioners for rebuilding to the designs of Mr Rowland, but nothing was done; there was confusion over possible amalgamation of Minwear with Slebech and Newton parishes, leading to indecision. In 1839 it was hoped that John Cooper, engaged to direct the construction of the new church at Slebech (but not the architect of that church), would do the other two 'at a trifling expense'. Fresh plans were drawn up, costed and approved; the proposal dragged on for more than ten years without the Baron ordering a start. In 1870 the burial ground was extended. A thorough restoration of the church was eventually undertaken, during the incumbency of the Rev. W H Landen in 1874, by the succeeding Baron de Rutzen, in which most early architectural detail was lost or obscured.

Exterior

Nave and chancel with a small S transept; N aisle overlapping nave and chancel, beneath a low continuation of the main roofs. Small tower at the W end. Masonry of a very variable local stone, hammer dressed, with larger stones at the quoins. There is a slight batter to the N and S walls of the nave and aisle, and a more pronounced batter to the W wall of the nave; the latter wall perhaps was strengthened when the tower was added. Roof of slates with bright red crested ridge tiles. Restored coped gables. All the windows and the N door were restored in 1874. The E window is three trefoil headed lights. Double pointed lights to the transept, single pointed light to the N aisle, and double square headed lights to the W of the aisle. There are circular windows at high level each side of the nave.

The tower is of three stages, with large offsets. Above the N offset is the tower door into the middle storey, which could be reached by a ladder. In the belfry storey there are double lights facing E and single lights facing N and W. To the S there is only a slit. The parapet stands on a corbel table, but it has lost any crenellations it may have had; there is now a plain coping.

Interior

The interior is superficially almost all of the C19, its appearance dominated by the unusual chancel wall with five apertures. There is the round central arch, taken to be Norman, flanked by later side openings, taken to be C18/19, with square piers of bare stonework. The side openings have low segmental arches. The left side arch is supported at left on a roughly octagonal pier. Above these in the chancel wall there are two slightly dissimilar high-level openings each with a straight-sided pointed head. They are perhaps too irregular to be C19, but if their function was to add 'borrowed light' to the nave they might be C18.

The nave is roofed with C19 scissor-braced common rafters and the chancel with C19 arch-braced collared common rafters. The chancel floor is at the same level as the floor of the nave; quarry tile paving with some decorative encaustic tiles. Two segmental arches into the N aisle from the chancel and one from the nave constitute a N arcade. The arches from the chancel are separated by a circular pier. The arches abut the chancel wall just above an octagonal pier. The transept to the S has a remnant of a squint, and is vaulted. The tower is also vaulted, fully open to the nave, and has splayed sides.

The altar and rails are of pine, but the panelled reredos is in oak. In the nave the pulpit and pews are of pine. There is a stoup recess beside the N door. An interesting round-bowled font was retrieved from the farmyard and re-installed in the 1874 restoration. On it are four heads (four evangelists?) carved in high relief each above a foliage or cartouche knot. The hair of each face is long and bulky at the ends: a C14 or later style. There is also a slight moulding to the rim of the font. The pillar and base are modern.

The memorial to Thomas Davies, clerk, d.1715, at the S side of the chancel, suggests an ejected clergyman, 'deprived of all that he could not keep with good conscience'. (There is a memorial to a similarly circumstanced priest at Crunwear.)

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a church of Norman origins associated with the Commandery of Slebech, which notwithstanding heavy restoration retains minor vaulting and an interesting font and tower.

External Links

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