St Martin’s Church, Cwmyoy
This medieval church is severely distorted by movements of the underlying ground. The instability caused problems centuries ago – beams inserted to reinforce the structure are thought to date from the 16th or 17th century.
Victorian stone buttresses shore up the exterior walls. The medieval tower needs the support of flying buttresses (ones with empty space beneath) to stop it leaning even more than it does now!
The oldest features of the church are thought to date from the 12th century, including some of the window openings and the font. The stone crucifix inside was probably carved in the 13th century. The church belonged to Llanthony Priory for its first few centuries. Since the 16th century it has been an Anglican church.
The church has six bells, all cast between 1672 and 1722.
In the 1880s the church underwent a restoration organised by the vicar, the Rev Lewis Lewis. He secured donations from many people. They included John Allan Rolls of Monmouth, whose son Charles co-founded the engineering company Rolls-Royce. The Rev Lewis was vicar for Cwmyoy and Llanthony for almost 40 years. He died in 1893 and is buried in the churchyard here.
In October 1918 a German prisoner of war was buried, with Catholic rites, at Cwmyoy after his accidental death in the PoW camp in Llanthony. Heinrich Harkotter, aged 26, was a soldier in the 16th Prussian Infantry Regiment, having been a farmer in Westphalia before the war. He and other PoWs were put to work for the British government at a sawmill which was set up in the camp. While moving a piece of wood between two racks, he slipped and fell with his back on a roller and was caught by the rotating circular saw. He died of his injuries within 15 minutes.
Postcode: NP7 7NT View Location Map