Cwmyoy - Church of St Martin
Little is known of the origins of the Church of St Martin, but it dates back at least to the Middle Ages. Christianity was brought here by people such as St David at Llanthony, and St Issui at Partrishow. It is more than likely that there was a church at Cwmyoy before the Norman Conquest.
The present church is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, which is not a common dedication in Monmouthshire. There was an ancient chapel at Bwlch Trewyn also bearing the dedication to St Martin. All traces of this chapel have disappeared. Both these churches would have been on the Pilgrim route to St David's in Pembrokeshire. In medieval times, two pilgrimages to St David's were considered the equivalent of one pilgrimage to Rome - an indication of how rough and hazardous travelling was at that time.
After the Norman Conquest the church came under the jurisdiction of Llanthony Priory which was founded in 1100 AD. The Manor of Cwmyoy was conferred to the Priory by Hugh de Lacy, son of the founder of the Priory, William de Lacy.
On 8th June 1538, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Llanthony Priory, together with all the manors and churches under its control were given to Sir Nicholas Arnold, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
During the monastic days, Cwmyoy was served by monks sent out by the Prior. After the dissolution, curates were appointed, but the names of those serving in the 17th century have never been recorded.
During the 18th century Cwmyoy became a perpetual curacy. Finally in 1830 it became a Vicarage, being formally joined to Llanthony. This was a formal recognition of an existing arrangement, since the curates had always shared both benefices.
To bring the record up to date, the two parishes of Cwmyoy and Llanthony became part of a larger grouping in 1969 when these parishes came together with Llanfihangel Crucorney and Oldcastle; in the 1990s Oldcastle church was closed, and the three remaining parishes joined to become the united parish of Llanfihangel Crucorney.
The name Cwmyoy - a phonetic spelling of the Monmouthshire pronunciation of "cwm lau" - means "valley (cwm) of the yoke (lau)" in reference to the curved shape of the valley near the church cutting deep into Hatterrall Hill behind (along which runs part of the long-distance trail, Offa's Dyke Path).
The Church of St Martin is probably unique. No part of it is square or at right angles with any other part. This striking irregularity is accounted for by the geology of the underlying rock. The shifting subsoil has caused the church to move, tilting to the north at the tower end and to the south, forward of the small window at the west end of the north wall. If you look towards the altar from inside the tower, you will see that the tower arch tilts to the left, and the chancel arch and east window tilt markedly to the right.
The tower itself, at the NW corner, leans 5.2 degrees out of perpendicular. The two large buttresses to support it were built in the 1960s.
The interior of the church is simple: it has a nave, chancel, tower and porch, and dates mainly from the 13th to 16th centuries. The remains of a stair in the chancel would have led to a rood loft (probably destroyed during the Reformation).
The church was restored in 1887, when the plaster ceiling of the nave was removed, and it is possible that moulded plaster decorations set in the porch wall are remnants of the ceiling.
There are interesting wall memorials, many of which are by members of the Bute family who carved many memorials in and around the churches of the Black Mountains.
The medieval cross in the centre of the church was dug up in 1861 at the nearby farm, and placed in the church in 1935. An unusual feature is the mitre with three crosses on the head of Christ. The chamfered edges indicate it is post-Conquest.
The simple font is medieval, the pulpit is 19th century.
Cwmyoy - Church of St Martin
Little is known of the origins of the Church of St Martin, but it dates back at least to the Middle Ages. Christianity was brought here by people such as St David at Llanthony, and St Issui at Partrishow. It is more than likely that there was a church at Cwmyoy before the Norman Conquest.
The present church is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, which is not a common dedication in Monmouthshire. There was an ancient chapel at Bwlch Trewyn also bearing the dedication to St Martin. All traces of this chapel have disappeared. Both these churches would have been on the Pilgrim route to St David's in Pembrokeshire. In medieval times, two pilgrimages to St David's were considered the equivalent of one pilgrimage to Rome - an indication of how rough and hazardous travelling was at that time.
After the Norman Conquest the church came under the jurisdiction of Llanthony Priory which was founded in 1100 AD. The Manor of Cwmyoy was conferred to the Priory by Hugh de Lacy, son of the founder of the Priory, William de Lacy.
On 8th June 1538, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Llanthony Priory, together with all the manors and churches under its control were given to Sir Nicholas Arnold, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
During the monastic days, Cwmyoy was served by monks sent out by the Prior. After the dissolution, curates were appointed, but the names of those serving in the 17th century have never been recorded.
During the 18th century Cwmyoy became a perpetual curacy. Finally in 1830 it became a Vicarage, being formally joined to Llanthony. This was a formal recognition of an existing arrangement, since the curates had always shared both benefices.
To bring the record up to date, the two parishes of Cwmyoy and Llanthony became part of a larger grouping in 1969 when these parishes came together with Llanfihangel Crucorney and Oldcastle; in the 1990s Oldcastle church was closed, and the three remaining parishes joined to become the united parish of Llanfihangel Crucorney.
The name Cwmyoy - a phonetic spelling of the Monmouthshire pronunciation of "cwm lau" - means "valley (cwm) of the yoke (lau)" in reference to the curved shape of the valley near the church cutting deep into Hatterrall Hill behind (along which runs part of the long-distance trail, Offa's Dyke Path).
The Church of St Martin is probably unique. No part of it is square or at right angles with any other part. This striking irregularity is accounted for by the geology of the underlying rock. The shifting subsoil has caused the church to move, tilting to the north at the tower end and to the south, forward of the small window at the west end of the north wall. If you look towards the altar from inside the tower, you will see that the tower arch tilts to the left, and the chancel arch and east window tilt markedly to the right.
The tower itself, at the NW corner, leans 5.2 degrees out of perpendicular. The two large buttresses to support it were built in the 1960s.
The interior of the church is simple: it has a nave, chancel, tower and porch, and dates mainly from the 13th to 16th centuries. The remains of a stair in the chancel would have led to a rood loft (probably destroyed during the Reformation).
The church was restored in 1887, when the plaster ceiling of the nave was removed, and it is possible that moulded plaster decorations set in the porch wall are remnants of the ceiling.
There are interesting wall memorials, many of which are by members of the Bute family who carved many memorials in and around the churches of the Black Mountains.
The medieval cross in the centre of the church was dug up in 1861 at the nearby farm, and placed in the church in 1935. An unusual feature is the mitre with three crosses on the head of Christ. The chamfered edges indicate it is post-Conquest.
The simple font is medieval, the pulpit is 19th century.