St Mary's Church
I'm not usually one to get excited over church ruins, yes they're nice and all that, but often they're not really report worthy. St Mary's in Tintern I found different though, it has some really charming features, and I was lucky enough to go in autumn, so the colours on the trees were beautiful. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to find any photos of it back in the day, which I found surprising.
The church was rebuilt in 1866, there used to be a medieval chapel on the grounds which was demolished to make way for the church, it was possibly used as a retreat for the monks of the nearby Tintern Abbey. It has been redundant since 1972, when this occurred, some contents were sold to Clearwell Castle Estate. The communion plate, altar cross, processional cross and candlesticks were moved to St Michael’s church, at the other end of the village. The church was subject to a fire in 1977, not sure if this was deliberate arson or an accident.
The graveyard is still used, with a few fresh tombstones around. There is a listed sarcophagus tomb in the grounds. It has been restored using 'traditional methods because of its age and listed status' The tomb is believed to belong to Richard White, a wealthy ironworks leaseholder who died in 1765. The tomb is said to be one of the earliest monuments to be listed and protected.
The restored tomb
A beautiful memorial tree
