1998

 

II*  

Designated  

09/01/1956  

09/12/2005  

Church of St. Michael  

 

Monmouthshire  

Gobion Fawr  

Abergavenny  

Llanfihangel Gobion  

334608  

209228  

 

About 250m to the south-west of the village centre down a dead end road off the B4598.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

There is nothing to date the church to before the C15 apart from its massive tower and its plain nature and lack of windows, which may suggest something earlier. There is no record of a Victorian restoration but there clearly have been repairs e.g. quoin replacements, at the top of the tower and re-roofing, and some of this is known to have been done in 1925. The very similar appearance of the roofline and tower to that of St. Cadoc, Llangattock-nigh-Usk (qv), may suggest that John Upton of Gloucester also worked on this church. Externally the building shows little change from the early C20.  

Built of random grey/red sandstone with dressed quoins, natural slate roofs. Nave and chancel under a continuous roof, north aisle and south porch to the nave, west tower. The south wall is continuous with six bays (4 + 2 nave and chancel) and two projections for the porch and the rood-loft; thus window, porch, window, rood, priest's door, window. The first window is a 2-light square headed Perpendicular one with cinquefoiled lights and glazed spandrels. To the left of this is a reset medieval carving of two angels. The porch is a deep gabled one with an open timber entrance i.e. no stone arch, side-lights with cusped heads. The porch seems C15 but has been repaired; it also seems to be an addition to an older structure as the doorway within has a 2-centred head and a continuous sunk chamfer moulding. The next window is a large 3-light one as before, then the projection for the rood with a small lancet. The chancel has the priest's door with 2-centred head then another 2-light window as before. The east gable is coped with an apex cross. The east window is pointed with two cinquefoiled lights and a quatrefoil in the head. The north wall has a blind chancel, a 2-light rood window and a north aisle under a catslide roof with a single light and a 2-light window; the single light window has a cinquefoil head with relief carvings of ironworkers' tools in the spandrels. The tower is square and massive with sharply defined quoins. There are three undefined stages with small rectangular lights on the south and west faces at the base and the south and north faces on the stage above. The bell-stage, which shows signs of reconstruction, has a 2-light opening under a carved single stone lintel. Pyramid slated roof.  

Continuous roof to nave and chancel, seven principal rafter trusses with arched collars, light purlins, secondary rafters and ridge piece; the rafters are continuous into the north aisle over the heavy wall-plate supported by the arcade; simple 4-bay arcade of moulded oak columns, reeded mouldings which die out into carefully carved bases. C16 font. Victorian furnishings.  

Included and highly graded for its special interest as a medieval church, largely unrestored and with good internal carpentry including unusual timber arcade.