Penallt Old Church is located just outside the village of

Penallt Penallt (also spelled Penalt) is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated high on a hill south of Monmouth. In the centre of the village, by the village green, stands the 17th-century village pub, the Bush Inn. Description Nearby, ''Penallt ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

as of 19 November 1953.

History and architecture

The church dates from the late thirteenth century or early fourteenth century and its dedication is unknown. The main part of the building is

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

, although the base of the tower is earlier, and the porch is later, bearing a date of 1539. The church was restored in 1885-7 and again in 1951. It is constructed of

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

The Old Church Penallt - interior - geograph

The interior has a barrel-shaped ceiling from the sixteenth century and a four-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

. It also contains an elaborate coat of arms of Queen Anne, dating from 1707. The altar table was carved in 1916 by a

war refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

from Belgium, who was reputed to be a master carver at

St. Rumbold's Cathedral St. Rumbold's Cathedral (; ) is the Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Saint Rumbold, Christian missionary and martyr who founded an abbey nearby. His remains are rumoured to be buried insid ...

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

. Services are still held at the church on Sundays.

References

Sources

* * {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , authorlink=John Newman (architectural historian) , series=The Buildings of Wales , title=Gwent/Monmouthshire , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&q=The+Buildings+of+Wales%3A+Gwent%2FMonmouthshire&pg=PA2 , year=2000 , publisher=Penguin , isbn=0-14-071053-1 Church in Wales church buildings in Monmouthshire Grade I listed churches in Monmouthshire