History
The origins of St. Michael’s church in Llanfihangel Nant Brân were not recorded in documents; it can only be assumed that it was built as a simple village church in the 13th century, during a period of rapid expansion in the Welsh parish network. The tower was built at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The church survived the Reformation and the subsequent Civil War, but by the mid-19th century it was reportedly in poor condition. Consequently, renovation and construction work began in 1882, leading to a complete reconstruction of the church’s nave.
Architecture
The church was built on a bend of the Nant Brân River and south of the Cwm Erchan stream that flows into it. Originally, it consisted solely of a rectangular nave with an externally undivided chancel, which were covered by a common gable roof. The original windows may have been narrow, probably capped with trefoils. At least one of these windows in the south wall was two-light. In the late Middle Ages, some of the windows may have been reshaped in the English Perpendicular Gothic style, as was the case with the two-light east window, framed by a quadrangular jamb.
The entrance portal to the church was located on the western side of the south wall, despite the fact that the road through the village ran along the north side of the church. It may have been preceded by a simple porch in the Middle Ages. An additional portal for the priest was supposedly located on the eastern side of the south wall. The nave and the adjacent chancel were not vaulted. The modest furnishings consisted of a piscina and a small square niche, likely serving as a shelf for church valuables.
At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, a quadrangular tower was built to the west side of the nave. It acquired a massive, relatively low, and squat form, with a staircase projecting from the southeast side. At the ground floor, the tower’s plinth section was topped with a rounded cornice. The higher elevations were divided only by simple slit windows and slightly larger windows on the top floor, traditionally intended for bells. Inside, the tower opened towards the nave with a pointed arcade.
Current state
The only medieval element of the church today is the tower, as the entire nave, including the porch and the undivided chancel, has been Victorian since the 1882 reconstruction. The tower walls retain a Tudor portal, several slit openings, and the uppermost windows, including reused tracery. The tower’s walls crown and roof have been rebuilt.
bibliography:
Haslam R., The buildings of Wales. Powys (Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, Breconshire), London 1979.
Salter M., The old parish churches of Mid-Wales, Malvern 1997.