Llanwarne

The ruined church of St John the Baptist, Llanwarne

Llanwarne is a village in the Wormelow hundred of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 380. It is approximately six miles north-west of Ross-on-Wye, near Harewood End and Pencoyd. Llanwarne means The church by the swamp/marsh or alders, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names.

The village's attractions, other than its scenic beauty, include the ruined Church of St John, the Baptist. It was abandoned in 1864 due to constant flooding from the brook, the Gamber.

Church of St John

The chancel and nave of St John's were built in the 13th Century, with later alterations, which include rebuilding of the south aisle and a cross being built in the churchyard during the 14th century. A tower and columbarium and a lych gate were added during the 15th century and in the 16th century, an Elizabethan monument was placed on the south wall. The porch and doorway were built in the 17th century.

This church was replaced by the current Christ Church, which is situated across the road on higher ground slightly to the west of the original site.

Christ Church

Christ Church, Llanwarne, dates from 1864, when it was built by Messrs Elmslie, Franey & Haddon at a cost of £2,550. It is a cruciform building in the Early English Decorated Style, consisting of a polygonal chancel with vestry to the south, two-bay nave, transepts, north porch and a north-western tower, with spirelet.

It is now a Grade-II listed building. It is considered a fine example of Victorian craftsmanship, and houses a number of historic treasures relocated from the old church. The tiled floor is original C19. North-east, east and south-east windows of the Nativity, Crucifixion and Resurrection are in memory of Walter Baskerville Mynors, Rector 1855-96. The south transept contains a pipe organ by "Eustace Ingram, London NW, 1882". On the south side of the nave are two windows which contain a rare and beautiful collection of 16th-century stained-glass round windows from the Netherlands. These were originally believed to portray traditional and biblical scenes. However, the roundels feature some extremely rare subjects, and are now understood to include scenes from the story of Sorgheloos, a late-medieval Dutch morality tale. The glass was donated to the church by the then rector, Walter Baskerville Mynors (1826–1899), after it was removed from the parish church of St Weonard in 1884 by Walter’s elder brother Robert Baskerville Mynors (b.1819), to make way for a memorial window to their mother.

The Llanwarne glass is described by William Cole in his Catalogue of Netherlandish and North European Roundels in Britain, Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi/ CVMA (GB), Summary Catalogue 1, Oxford, 1993, pp. 131–34. The Sorgheloos roundels are also discussed in. J. Berserik and J. M. A. Caen, Silver-Stained Roundels and Unipartite Panels before the French Revolution. Flanders, II: The Provinces of East and West Flanders, Turnhout, 2011.

Wesleyan Chapel

According to Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire of 1856 there was a Wesleyan Chapel nearby, on the ridge to the north of the village at Turkey Tump.

Local Secular Buildings

Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire of 1913 also mentions Broom-y-clos Court (circa half a mile east of the village centre), Lyston Court (circa a mile west of the village) "a noble residence of stone, with 44 acres of park and grounds", and the Rectory, adjacent to the site of the Ruined church of St John.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Llanwarne)

• Location map: 51°57’3"N, 2°44’9"W

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