Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eating
(see 4)
C2
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Drinking & Nightlife
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Entertainment
(see 9)
Shopping
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Sights
St Mary's Priory Church
OFFLINE MAP
CHURCH
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.stmarys-priory.org
;
Monk St; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat)
The relatively modest-looking St Mary's
Priory Church has been described as the 'Westminster Abbey of South Wales' because of
the remarkable treasury of aristocratic tombs that lies within. During the official opening
hours there's usually a volunteer warden around to answer questions; outside of these
times, ask at the neighbouring Tithe Barn to have the doors unlocked.
St Mary's was founded at the same time as the castle (1087) as part of a Benedictine
priory, but the present building dates mainly from the 14th century, with 15th- and 19th-
century additions and alterations. A graceful, worn, carved-oak effigy (1325) in the north
transept commemorates Sir John de Hastings, who was responsible for the church's 14th-
century transformation. It survived Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries by being
converted into a parish church, making it an interesting counterpoint to the ruins of nearby
Tintern and Llanthony abbeys.
The oldest memorial (1256) is the stone figure near the sanctuary of Eva de Braose,
Lady Abergavenny, portrayed holding a shield. Her husband William was hanged after be-
ing found in the bedchamber of Prince Llywelyn the Great's wife, daughter of England's
