The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust
Historic Environment Record
 

The following information has been provided under the terms and conditions of access as detailed on GGAT’s website www.ggat.org.uk.  Copyright is reserved on all data supplied by the GGAT HER Charitable Trust. All output resulting from the use of the data must acknowledge the source as follows:-
Derived from information held by the GGAT HER Charitable Trust copyright.

The data below is intended to be used for information and research only and is not for use as part of a commercial project.  If you wish to use information derived from material held by the GGAT HER Charitable Trust for publication in printed or multimedia form or to compile resources for commercial use, prior permission must be obtained in writing. For further information or to arrange a visit to the Trust please send an enquiry form http://www.ggat.org.uk/her/english/enquiry_form.html to her@ggat.org.uk.

St Michael's Church, Machen

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 05014g
Trust : Glamorgan Gwent
Community : Graig
Unitary authority : Newport
NGR : ST22808808
Site Type (preferred type first) : Unknown Church
Status : listed building II*

Summary :
Machen church is first mentioned in c 1102. The church consists of nave; separate chancel;Morgan Chapel, now used as a vestry; W tower; and S porch. Although at least parts of the fabric are medieval, there are no surviving medieval architectural features, the earliest being post-medieval vernacular, with the chapel being polite Georgian. Victorian restoration.

Description :
Machen church is first mentioned in c 1102 (Brook 1988, 81). The churchyard is irregular and retains its cross, though this is now so covered with ivy that no detail can be seen. Roman pottery, provisionally dated between AD55 and 110 has recently been discovered during the digging of a pit in the grounds of the adjacent property (report in preparation; a copy will be lodged with the SMR), so it is likely that Roman occupation extends under the churchyard.

The church consists of nave; separate chancel; the Morgan family chapel, now used as a vestry; W tower; and S porch. The rood stairs also survive, but they were built into the NE corner of the nave rather than a special extension; Crossley and Ridgway (1959, 58) noted the sawn-off end of the rood beam; they also suggest that the niches on either side of the chancel arch represent the positions of altars under the loft. The direction in which the dressings face on the door between the nave and tower show that the tower was intended to function as a porch. The existence of a former W gallery is attested by two superimposed windows at the W end of the N wall; it seems to have been entred by a door from the first floor of the tower. The building is constructed of coursed rubble in local sandstone and conglomerate, but unsympathetic pointing obscures the edges of the blocks and makes any analysis of the fabric impossible. This is compounded by the replacement of all the openings in the Victorian period, probably in 1901 (Crossley and Ridgway, 1959, 58), except for the doors to the tower and the porch, and the door between the Morgan chapel and the chancel. There seems no reason, however, to regard the fabric as other than medieval, particularly since it preserves such features as the rood stairs and the piscina in the S wall of the chancel. The chancel arch, which has lost its dressings, could be as early as the 13th century, as could the door between the tower and the nave; the outer door to the tower may well be later. The porch door appears to be 16th or 17th century. The present doorway between the chancel and chapel is of 18th or early 19th century date, but replaces an earlier opening of which insufficient is visible to establish a date. Coxe, who visited the church in 1799, describes it only as `a small edifice of simple form, with gothic windows and doors'.

The Morgan chapel still retains its Georgian interior decoration (though not its fittings), including the stucco dressings on the chancel side of the doorway; it contains many memorials, most not recorded by Bradney, dating from the 18th century on. The stone carved with a grotesque head in the tower was originally interpreted as being a gorgon of Roman date, but is now thought more likely to be of 17th or 18th century date and to have none of the normal gorgon attributes (Brewer 1986, 61-2 no.103). Otherwise all the internal fittings are Victorian or later. Wright (1939, 82-4) notes eight bells in 1914. There had been three in 1740; a ring of six was cast in 1786 by Bailey of Bridgwater, of which one was recast in 1856; and two others were added in 1911.

References:
Bradney, J A, 1993, A history of Monmouthshire. Vol V, The Hundred of Newport (ed M Grey), 119-21
Brewer, R J, 1986, Corpus of sculpture of the Roman world: Great Britain, vol 1 fasc 5, Wales. Oxford
Brook, D, 1988, The early Christian church in Gwent, Monmouthshire Antiq 5, 67-84
Coxe, W, 1801, An historical tour in Monmouthshire, 68
Crossley, F H, and Ridgway, M H, 1959, Screens, lofts and stalls situated in Wales and Monmouthshire. Part ten, Section XIII: Monmouthshire Archaeol Cambrensis 108, 14-71 (58)
Evans, J D, 1988, The churchyard yews of Gwent, 64, 93, 101, 158
Wright, A, 1939, The church bells of Monmouthshire iv, Archaeol Cambrensis, 94, 80-90 (82-4)
Evans 1997 GGAT 51 Historic Churches Project

Grade II* listed church with mostly 15th century fabric (Procter 2018). Associated with Llantarnam Abbey.


Sources :
Evans, E M , 1997 , Gwent Historic Churches Survey: Churches in the Diocese of Monmouth, Archdeaconry of Newport
Evans, E M , 2003 , Early Medieval Ecclesiastical sites in Southeast Wales: Desk based assessment
Evans, E M , 2004 , Early Medieval Ecclesiastical sites in Southeast Wales: Rapid field survey of selected sites
Procter, E. , 2018 , The topographical legacy of the medieval monastery: evolving perceptions and realities of monastic landscapes in the southern Welsh Marches
The Handley Partnership , HAAbase built heritage assessment system: Buildings at Risk database
01/PM DESC TEXT/GGAT/1997/Uplands Survey Gwent Project no. CUR 1; Report no. 97/005
Evans EM, 2003-04, GGAT 73 Early Medieval Ecclesiastical Sites Project
EM Evans (1998) GGAT 51/81 Welsh Historic Churches Survey: Glamorgan and Gwent
Uplands Survey Gwent Project no.

Events :
E001386 : Early medieval ecclesiastical sites in Southeast Wales desk based assessment (year : 2003)
E001416 : Lower Machen (year : 2004)
E008722 : St Michael’s Church, Lower Machen, Newport (year : 2013)

Related records
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 00030g
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 08220g
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 08612g
Church in Wales Reference No. 4731 https://churchheritagecymru.org.uk/CHR/ChurchDetails.aspx?id=4096
National Monuments Record NPRN 307316 https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/307316/details/st-michaels-church-lower-machen
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 00624g

Compiled date : 12-03-2004


April 2, 2025, 8:42 am - HTML file produced from GGAT HER Charitable Trust Ltd. Heathfield House, Heathfield, Swansea SA1 Tel. 01792 655208; Fax 01792 474469 website: www.ggat.org.uk  email: her@ggat.org.uk Registered Charity no. 505609
Data supplied by in partnership with Local Authorities, Cadw and the partners of ENDEX © GGAT HER Charitable Trust, 2025 (and in part © Crown, 2025).