Church of All Saints, Kemeys Commander

Church in Monmouthshire, Wales
51°44′17″N 2°56′39″W / 51.7381°N 2.9442°W / 51.7381; -2.9442LocationKemeys Commander, MonmouthshireCountryWalesDenominationChurch in WalesWebsiteOfficial websiteHistoryStatusParish churchFoundedc. 13th centuryArchitectureFunctional statusActiveHeritage designationGrade II*Designated18 November 1980Architectural typeChurchAdministrationDioceseMonmouthArchdeaconryMonmouthDeaneryRaglan/UskParishHeart of Monmouthshire Ministry AreaClergyRectorThe Reverend K J Hasler

The Church of All Saints, Kemeys Commander, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a parish church with its origins in the 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The hamlets of Kemeys Commander and Kemeys Inferior formed part of the Monmouthshire estates of the Knights Templar.[1] The Templars administered their holdings through commandery, accounting for the name of the hamlet. A reference to a church on the site dates from the 13th century, but the present building was constructed in the 15th century.[1] The Lordship of Kemeys dates from the Middle Ages and was held by the Kemeys family until the estate was sold in the early 18th century.[2]

The church was restored by Richard Creed in the late 19th century.[1] At the time of the restoration, the vicar was The Rev. Herbert Sheppard M.A., of Clare College, Cambridge.[3]

Architecture and description

The church is built of local limestone in the Perpendicular style.[4] The entrance is through a timber porch[4] and under a bell gable.[5] The building has suffered from subsidence and the bell gable is off-vertical.[6]

The church retains its original medieval rood screen and rood beam, one of few churches in southeast Wales that do so.[7][8]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Cadw. "Church of All Saints, Gwehelog Fawr (Grade II*) (2626)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ^ Newman 2000, p. 260.
  3. ^ "Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire, 1901". Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b Newman 2000, p. 259.
  5. ^ "All Saints, Kemeys Commander (307345)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  6. ^ "GGAT01812g". Cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  7. ^ Newman 2000, p. 25: "At Kemeys Commander the screen and rood beam remain, and were clearly constructed together with the fabric of the little church".
  8. ^ Kenyon, John R.; Williams, Diane M. (2006). Cardiff: Architecture and Archaeology in the Medieval Diocese of Llandaff. British Archaeological Association. ISBN 978-1-904350-80-4.
    reprinted as Kenyon, John R.; Williams, Diane M. (2020). Cardiff : architecture and archaeology in the medieval diocese of Llandaff. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 9781000161076.

References

  • Newman, John (2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire. The Buildings of Wales. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071053-1.
South side of the church