St Cybi's Church, Llangybi, Monmouthshire facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Cybi's Church, Llangybi, Monmouthshire |
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| Church of St Cybi | |
The entrance and tower
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| Location | Llangybi, Monmouthshire |
| Country | Wales |
| Denomination | Church in Wales |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | C13th-C14th century |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 18 November 1980 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Llangybi |
| Deanery | Raglan/Usk |
| Archdeaconry | Monmouth |
| Diocese | Monmouth |
The Church of St Cybi is a very old church in Llangybi, Monmouthshire. It was first built a long time ago, possibly in the 1200s or 1300s. The church was updated in the 1400s and then fixed up again in 1909–1910.
Inside, you can see amazing old wall paintings from the medieval period. One special painting is called Christ of the Trades, which is from around 1460. The church is still used today for services. It is a Grade II* listed building, which means it's a very important historic building. An expert named John Newman said it's "one of the most interesting" churches in the Usk Valley area.
Church History
This church is named after St Cybi, a saint from the 500s. People believe he was the one who started the church here. The building you see today was built either in the 1200s or 1300s.
The church got some updates in the early 1700s. Then, in the early 1900s, it was carefully restored by W H Dashwood Caple. The old wall paintings, like The Creed and Christ of the Trades, were hidden under white paint for many years. Now, they have been fully cleaned and restored as part of a big project to fix up the church.
A famous writer and priest from the 1400s, Adam of Usk, was in charge of this church in 1423.
Nearby Attractions
Just outside the churchyard, there are remains of a Holy well. This well is also dedicated to St Cybi. Some experts think that the well and the White Hart Inn in the village were mentioned by the famous poet T.S. Eliot in his poem called Usk. He wrote:
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- "Do not suddenly break the branch, or
- Hope to find
- The white hart behind the white well."
Church Design
The church building is in a style called Perpendicular. This means it has tall, straight lines and big windows. The tower at the west end has two floors and no buttresses (supports on the outside). The old wooden roof of the main part of the church (the nave) has been uncovered during recent repairs.
An expert named Simon Jenkins said the way the inside of the church was restored in the early 1900s was "masterly." He thinks W. D. Caröe did the work. Besides the medieval wall paintings, there are also some painted messages from the 1600s inside.
You can also see some old monuments for people who have passed away. One is for John Morgan, from 1805. It shows a woman crying next to a pot, under a weeping willow tree. People have different ideas about how good this monument is. The official record says it's "good," but John Newman thought it was "hackneyed" (meaning it was too common or unoriginal). However, Newman still thought the church as a whole was "one of the most interesting" in the Usk Valley.
The pulpit, where the preacher stands, was put together again from parts of an 18th-century one. It has a special board above it to make the preacher's voice louder. The wooden benches (pews) are from the 1800s. The organ, which has been fixed up, was put in the church in 1933.
