Overview

The Lower Wye Valley Building Preservation Trust 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. This enchanting space will then become a focus for seasonal well-being, arts, ecological and heritage skills activities that educate and improve mental and physical health.

Despite being a landmark building of architectural, historical and cultural significance, St Mary's is 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. We are currently in final negotiations over the transfer and have paid the required purchase and legal fees.

For safety reasons, the ruin is currently fenced off and unauthorised access is forbidden. Please watch this video instead of independently exploring.

The churchyard (owned by Church in Wales*) is consecrated ground with beautiful views and interesting monuments. We have permission to restore these rather wild grounds as a wildflower meadow and we host around 10 sessions a year (weather depending).

See here for tours and events that also fund our campaign.

We strongly urge UK taxpayers to tick the GiftAid box as HMRC will then match 25% of your donation and give 5% to the hosting platform. Please note that you can set the hosting commission (payable by you) from the automatic setting down to 0 or whatever level you wish.

Phase 1

To gain additional funding from grants organisations such as the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) we need to provide 10% match-funding and are developing long-term and sustainable partnerships for ongoing maintenance and revenue. In the meantime we are crowdfunding and, have following a succesfull emergency security award from Cadw are now applying to them to support some of these additional works:

Fund 3-D measurement and structural surveys to record and deliver a full assessment of works needed.

Deliver basic consolidation and security works so the ruin can be re-opened to the public.

Design, distribute and evaluate a community consultation. This will inform our NHLF bid and any Phase II works. Depending on the interest, stability, and funding raised this may involve further renovation.

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. Membership is £10 a year and offers a discount to each individual member on events.

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.

Our events are open to everyone. Past speakers include: Kate Humble, Candida Meyrick, Keggie Carew, David Hurn, Mark McCrum, Andrew Ziminski and Professor Miranda Aldhouse-Green. Next year we will host BBC wildlife cinematographer Robin Smith, broadcasters Nick Crane, Professor Ronald Hutton and Professor Miranda Aldhouse-Green and Anne Wareham and astrophycisist Professor Belinda Wilkes.

Our next event is Friday 2 October, 7.30 - Rowan Williams & Pele Cox at the Savoy Theatre with a celebration of poetry and spirituality. Book here.

The next two volunteering sessions are 10.30-12.30, Saturday 17 October and 28 November.

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 any medieval pilgrimage trail before reaching the abbey and you can still walk down this ancient cobbled route.

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.

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 and 1973 deconsecration 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 on volunteering days and recording species.