St Mary's Church

St Mary the Virgin stands on farmland beside the river, about a mile north of Llanfair Kilgeddin village in Monmouthshire. The church was first built in the Middle Ages but rebuilt in the 1870s by John Dando Sedding for the rector, William John Coussmaker Lindsay. Its most striking feature is the Arts and Crafts interior, added later in memory of Lindsay’s wife. Heywood Sumner designed the sgraffito decorations, cutting back coloured plaster to reveal patterns beneath. Sumner’s work took the theme of the Benedicite and included images of the River Usk and nearby landmarks. The church contains a medieval font alongside the later Arts and Crafts scheme. In the 1980s it was declared redundant and saved from demolition by the Friends of Friendless Churches. The charity holds the building’s freehold and has restored Sumner’s decorations twice, once in 2006–07. The graveyard includes a private burial ground for the Crawshay family, ironmasters from Cyfarthfa Ironworks. Architectural historian John Newman called the decoration so fine that Llanfair Kilgeddin should be a pilgrimage site for Arts and Crafts admirers. Visitors find a small church with plain stone walls outside but vivid plasterwork inside. Sumner’s designs cover every wall with scenes from nature and local views. The font and simple furnishings remain from the medieval period. The graveyard holds graves of the Crawshay family and their ironworks associates. The building’s Grade I listing recognises its outstanding Arts and Crafts interior. The quiet farmland setting adds to the contrast between the modest exterior and richly decorated interior.