History
Church of St. Mary was erected in the 13th century thanks to the support of Norman lord William Fitzmartin. It was rebuilt for the first time at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries or a little later, then in the fifteenth century. It was renovated in the years 1834-1835, and then in 1879.
Architecture
The church at the end of the Middle Ages obtained a rather extensive layout for a village parish church. It consisted of a rectangular, long nave and a rectangular, shorter, but of the same width chancel. From the north and south, chapels or the arms of a wide transept were attached to the nave. Both are two-bay, with each bay covered with a separate gable roof, mounted on a triangular gable. On the west side, a massive, four-sided tower was attached to the nave at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, located slightly asymmetrically, with a deviation from the longitudinal axis of the church. Its walls in the corners were reinforced with stepped buttresses, one with an ogee arch recess and corbel decorated with a human mask. In the south-eastern corner of the tower, there was a communication turret placed, ensuring communication between the floors. Both it and the tower itself were crowned with a parapet mounted on consoles.
Current state
As a result of the early modern renovation, the church was enlarged by the northern porch, and the southern wall of the nave was largely rebuilt. The windows of the temple were also replaced during renovation works. Inside the church there is a baptismal font from the 13th century.
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 Saint Mary A Grade II Listed Building in Newport, Pembrokeshire.