History
The beginnings of the Christian temple in Lamphey date back to the early Middle Ages. In the period after the Norman conquest, the local church served as a parish. In the 14th century, a Gothic nave, chancel and transept were erected on the site of this original building, and at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries a porch and a tower were added. The church was renovated in 1826, when additional sitting places were added, and again refurbished in the mid-nineteenth century, when a partial reconstruction was made.
Architecture
The medieval church consisted of a three-bay nave (5.5 x 11 meters) and a two-bay chancel on the eastern side (5.5 x 6 meters), although the latter was not externally distinguished and the whole was covered with a common gable roof. In addition, the church had a small northern arm of the transept with a squint passage connected with the chancel, southern, also modest, arm of the transept, southern porch and a four-sided tower on the west side. The tower received a slender form, great height, and it was crowned with a parapet and battlement typical of late medieval Welsh churches, mounted on corbels protruding from the facades of the walls. From the north-east side, it was also equipped with a protruding communication turret.
Current state
The church has retained the medieval layout, despite thorough construction and renovation works from the 19th century. Most of the thirteenth-century substance has survived in the northern arm of the transept, and the tower of the fourteenth / fifteenth century is also in good condition. Inside the chancel, you can see the original architectural details: a piscina and two lancet windows. The Romanesque baptismal font has also been preserved.
bibliography:
Salter M., The old parish churches of South-West Wales, Malvern 2003.
The Royal Commission on The Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions in Wales and Monmouthshire. An Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, VII County of Pembroke, London 1925.
Website britishlistedbuildings.co.uk, Church of St Tyfie and St Faith A Grade II Listed Building in Lamphey, Pembrokeshire.
Website coflein.gov.uk, St Tyfai’s church, Lamphey; St Faith and St Tyfei, Lamphey.