Overview

LWVBPT has taken on the challenge of preserving this medieval ruin, but we need your support.

In the first instance we hope to conserve St Mary's in the same way as St James at nearby Lancaut so the ruin is returned to the public as a peaceful place to relax and unwind on its beautiful wooded hillside with fine views over the surrounding Lower Wye Valley. With seating and internal planting, this enchanting space will become a focus for well-being, arts and ecological activities that educate and improve mental and physical health.

Despite being a landmark building of architectural, historical and cultural significance, St Mary's is now ownerless, being held by the Crown Estate in escheat. Decades of poor decisions, rejected planning applications, vandalism, fire, and abandonment mean that urgent work is required.

For safety reasons, the ruin is currently fenced off and it is not recommended that the public go inside, but the churchyard (owned by Church in Wales*) is a beautiful public space worth visiting. Please watch this video instead of independently exploring. See below for details of tours and events to support our campaign.

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Phase 1

To gain additional funding from grants organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) we need to provide match-funding and are developing long-term and sustainable partnerships for ongoing maintenance and revenue. In the meantime we are crowdfunding to:

Fund measurements, structural surveys and pay legal fees to record and deliver a liability assessment and establish a suitable purchase price.

Purchase and insure the building.

Secure the site and deliver basic and emergency consolidation works so the ruin is safe to visit.

Design, distribute and evaluate a community consultation for ongoing legacy and sustainable use which will inform Phase II and the resulting HLF bid. Depending on the funding raised this may involve full renovation enabling further and wider public use.

LWVBPT

The Lower Wye Valley Building Preservation Trust is a charitable company that currently intends to preserve two sites in Tintern - St Mary's and Fryer's Wharf.

Email info@lwvbpt.org if you would like to know more about volunteering, subscribe to our free quarterly newsletter, directly donate, or would like joining details.

We run a mixture of free and ticketed events that are open to everyone. Our next churchyard history tours are Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September.

Please do follow us on social media with @lwvbpt to keep up-to-date with our news.

History of St Mary's

The Cistercian monks founded Tintern Abbey in the 12th century, but by the 14th century (and after the Black Death) they needed lay-tenants to farm their land. They built a separate and new chapel on what was then a church and religious site called Llanandras / St Andras, rededicating it to St Mary's after the abbey's mother chapel and their patron saint. St Mary's would have been the last stop on a medieval pilgrimage trail before reaching the abbey and you can still walk down that cobbled pathway to this day.

St Mary's passed to the community after the dissolution of the monastery. The Angidy wireworkers - industrialists at the forefront of 16-19th century technological advancement - then worshipped here leaving a legacy of ostentatious Grade II listed tombs that reflect the prosperity of those times.

Medieval features still remain, particularly at the east end where there is a failing 19th century repair. However, over 1865-8 the eminent architect John Prichard extended the two-level porch into a neo-gothic belltower and added a vestry, with repaired medieval stonework returned to original positions and dimensions.

In 1972 the church was closed - despite protests and it being newly Grade II listed. The closure triggered a series of unfortunate actions and decisions that led to its eventual dereliction.

St Mary's, on Tintern's Chapel Hill offers the closest aerial view of the abbey, river and village, so it has always been a popular place for pilgrims, tourists, walkers, photographers and artists. The wild and seemingly remote setting is indicative of how Tintern Abbey once looked to an early tourist experiencing Gilpin's romantic notion of the 'picturesque' a term coined in and for this valley.

*Churchyard

The churchyard is open to the public and belongs to the Church in Wales (CiW). The volunteer clearing days, which the Trust coordinate to make grounds safe and to bring them to Wildlife Site Status, are separate to the building conservation campaign. This maintenance is with agreement and under direction of CiW churchyard protocols and is supplementary to commissioned CiW works. We are deeply grateful to CiW, Gwent Wildlife Trust and Wye Valley National Landscapes for their ongoing support.