The Church of Our Lady and St Michael in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, is a Roman Catholic parish church. A Grade II* listed building, it was built between 1858 and 1860 to a design by Benjamin Bucknall.
| Church of Our Lady and St Michael, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Our Lady and St Michael | |
 | |
| 51°49′32″N 3°01′13″W / 51.8256°N 3.0204°W | |
| Location | Abergavenny, Monmouthshire |
| Country | Wales |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | [1] |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Founder(s) | John Baker Gabb |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 27 September 2001 |
| Architect(s) | Benjamin Bucknall |
| Style | Decorated Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1858 |
| Completed | 1860 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Cardiff |
| Parish | Abegavenny |
History and architecture
editAbergavenny remained a Catholic stronghold in the years after the Reformation, and its first Catholic church built after the Reformation was on Frogmore Street.[1] This was replaced as the town's main Catholic church by Our Lady and St Michael's in 1860.[1] The construction of the church was funded by a local solicitor, John Baker Gabb, and the architect was Benjamin Bucknall.[2] Bucknall was engaged on the building of Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire, for another Catholic client, William Leigh, and, aged only 25, was seen as a coming man in Catholic architectural circles. Bucknall's intellectual and architectural influences were the work and ideas of Augustus Pugin – he converted to Catholicism in the year of Pugin's death – and the French Gothic Revival architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, with whom Bucknall was in regular correspondence.[3]
The church is constructed in Decorated Gothic style, with an accompanying Tudor Gothic presbytery.[2] Built of Old Red Sandstone, with Bath Stone dressings and slate roofs,[1] the church comprises a nave, North and South aisles and a chancel.[4] An intended "grand tower and spire" were never built.[2]
Internal features
editSimon Jenkins describes the church as "a bold composition of church and presbytery."[5] The interior of the church is largely unchanged since its construction with all its original Victorian furniture and furnishings intact.[1] The presbytery is similarly unspoilt.[1] The church also has "an exceptionally fine collection of medieval and later vestments".[4]
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e Cadw. "Church of Our Lady and St Michael R C, including attached Presbytery (No. 10), Abergavenny (Grade II*) (2467)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ a b c Newman 2000, p. 98-9.
- ^ "Benjamin Bucknall". 18 September 2008. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Our Lady and St Michael's Catholic Church, Pen-y-Pound Road, Abergavenny (12866)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Jenkins 2008, p. 182.
References
edit- Jenkins, Simon (2008). Wales: Churches, Houses, Castles. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-713-99893-1.
- Newman, John (2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire. The Buildings of Wales. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071053-1.
External links
edit
Media related to Church of Our Lady and St Michael, Abergavenny at Wikimedia Commons
