Church of St Teilo, Llantilio Crossenny

The Church of St Teilo stands in the small village of Llantilio Crossenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is a grand cruciform church built largely of Old Red Sandstone, with a thirteenth-century tower and nave, a fourteenth-century chancel, and an eighteenth-century shingled spire. The church was listed Grade I in 1953 and is dedicated to Saint Teilo. Its size reflects the former presence of the Bishops of Llandaff, who owned the nearby manor at Hen Gwrt. The bishops also lived close to White Castle, which added to the church’s importance. The interior is recognised as outstanding by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Two stone corbels beside the east window are said to show Edward II, and the church holds good-quality funerary monuments from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Stained glass by Charles Eamer Kempe adds colour to the building. The church was restored in 1856–57 by John Prichard and John Pollard Seddon. The Revd Heidi Prince serves as Priest-in-Charge, having returned to the parish in 2015. Visitors find a spacious cruciform interior with a landmark spire rising above the village. The tower and nave date from the thirteenth century, while the chancel is fourteenth-century work. The east chapel’s east window is framed by two corbels thought to represent Edward II. The churchyard contains a number of old gravestones and monuments. The setting is quiet, with the remains of the bishops’ manor house at Hen Gwrt nearby.