History
The first church existed in Uzmaston at least since the early 12th century, when it was donated to Worcester Cathedral. Around 1145, the “ecclesia ville Osmundi” was given by Wizo Fleming of Wiston Castle and his son Walter to the Knights of St John from the commandry of Slebech, while the preceptor of the Order of St John in 1302 gave the right of patronage of the church to St Davids Cathedral, in order to help fund its repairs. This gift was confirmed in the same year by Bishop David Martin. The church was recorded earlier in the 1291 Taxatio Ecclesiastica tax register, where its annual income was valued at £4, of which 8 shillings were to go to the English king.
On the site of the original church, a stone early Gothic building was probably built in the 13th century or at the latest in the 14th century. The nave, chancel and transept were built at that time. Towards the end of the Middle Ages or at the beginning of the Early Modern period, a tower was added. It is possible that William Philipps of Picton had a hand in its construction. In 1554, he obtained a 40-year lease of the tithes from Uzmaston church, which he received in return for an annual rent of £5, 6 shillings and 8 pence. As part of the agreement, the lessee also agreed to provide a curate to serve the church. The lease was renewed in 1565 and remained in the hands of the Philipps family until the second half of the 17th century.
The first major modern changes to the church recorded in records took place around 1837-1839. A porch was built at that time, and the windows in the nave were replaced. The roof covering was probably also replaced after a few years. A thorough renovation, or rather a Victorian reconstruction, began in 1870. Over the course of three years, the eastern part of the side walls of the chancel, the nave and the southern transept were demolished and then rebuilt on the old foundations. In addition, the northern aisle and sacristy were added. The last major renovation works were carried out in the 1990s.
Architecture
The church was founded near the slopes descending to the south and west towards the Western Cleddau River. At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries it consisted of a rectangular nave and a separate chancel, closed to the east by a straight wall. Probably contemporary with them were the annexes on the north and south sides, having the character of a pseudo-transept, but differing in shape and dimensions. The north and south arms were connected to the chancel by diagonal passages popular in the south-west of Wales. In the late 16th century, a slender tower was added to the north transept.
The interior of the church was lit by Gothic windows, splayed towards the interior, initially probably lancet or with trefoil heads. Traditionally, the most impressive was the lancet east window of the chancel, which lit the main altar, perhaps added later, and filled with a three-light tracery created in the style of English Perpendicular Gothic. Large windows could also have been inserted into the gable walls of the pseudo-transept, while the smallest and simplest single lancet openings illuminated the diagonal passages to the north and south. The entrance to the church probably led, as in most rural Welsh churches, through the north and south walls of the nave.
Inside the church, the nave and the chancel were connected by a pointed arcade of an crude, unadorned form. The side annexes of the pseudo-transept were probably also opened to the nave with similar arcades. The construction of diagonal passages between the side annexes and the chancel would indicate that in the eastern part of the nave, just in front of the chancel arcade, there was a rood screen. Neither the nave nor the chancel were most likely covered with vaults, but, following the pattern of many other Welsh religious buildings from the 13th/14th centuries, it were opened to the roof truss. Only the diagonal passages were topped with small barrel vaults.
Current state
The church was significantly transformed in the early modern period. During the 19th-century reconstruction, the Victorian north aisle absorbed the north transept, and the south transept was reduced to a small annex, although it cannot be ruled out that the new transept walls were built on older foundations. Most of the nave and the eastern part of the side walls of the chancel were similarly rebuilt. The sacristy and porch are entirely modern elements. The tower currently has the most historic substance, with a preserved tracery window in the style of Perpendicular Gothic. There is also a Gothic window in the diagonal passage between the chancel and the tower. The sacristy window may be medieval, certainly transferred from the demolished parts of the building. It is possible that elements of the original window are used in the present eastern opening in the chancel. Inside, several medieval consoles in the chancel, the original chancel arcade and the 12th-century font are visible.
bibliography:
Barker T.W., Green F., Pembrokeshire Parsons, „West Wales historical records”, 4/1914.
Glynne S.R., Notes on the Older Churches in the Four Welsh Dioceses, „Archaeologia Cambrensis”, 2/1885.
Ludlow N., North Pembrokeshire Churches, An Overview of the Churches in North Pembrokeshire, Llandeilo 2000.
Ludlow N., North Pembrokeshire Churches, Church Reports, Llandeilo 2000.
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.