The Church of St Teilo is the parish church of

Llantilio Crossenny Llantilio Crossenny ( cy, Llandeilo Gresynni) is a small village and much larger former community, now in the community of Whitecastle, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is situated between the two towns of Aberga ...

, Monmouthshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. "An unusually grand

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

church", with an Early English tower crossed by a Decorated

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

, it was designated a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

on 19 November 1953 The church is dedicated to

Saint Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...

History and architecture

Llantilio Crossenny was a manor of the Bishops of

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and the site of their manor house can still be seen at Hen Gwrt. Their episcopal presence and the proximity of White Castle account for the "exceptional scale" of the church. It is of

Old Red Sandstone The Old Red Sandstone 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 northeastern seaboard of North America. It also ext ...

with a "landmark" shingled spire. The tower and the nave are of the thirteenth century whilst the chancel was rebuilt in the fourteenth. The spire was added in the early eighteenth century and the whole was restored by

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard ...

and

John Pollard Seddon John Pollard Seddon FRIBA (19 September 1827 – 1 February 1906) was a British architect, working largely on churches. His father was a cabinetmaker, and his brother Thomas Seddon (1821–1856) a landscape painter. Born in London, he was educa ...

in 1856–7. The interior is described as "outstanding" by the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectura ...

. Either side of the East window of the chapel are two stone

corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

which are said to represent

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

. The interior also has a number of seventeenth and eighteenth century funerary monuments of high quality and stained glass by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lich ...

The Church

The Priest-in-Charge is the Revd Heidi Prince, who was the Vicar of Llantilio Crossenny between 1997 and 2006, and was, uniquely, re-appointed to the parish in 2015. Services are held on the first and third Sunday of each month, as well as for all the principal Christian feast days. Details can be found on the parish's website.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Llantilio Crossenny, Saint Teilo Grade I listed churches in Monmouthshire Church in Wales church buildings 13th-century church buildings in Wales