The next part in this occasional series is St Marys Church in Tenby, which is apt, as this year the church celebrates its 800th birthday. Reputedly the largest parish church in Wales, St Marys is located in the centre of the town of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The church is in the Diocese of Saint David’s within the Church in Wales, and members of the Anglican Communion.
There is believed to have been a church on the site since Norman times, but most of what remains dates from the 13th century building and subsequent additions in the 14th and 15th centuries. The 13th century chancel has a ‘wagon’ roof and the panelled ceiling has 75 bosses carved with a variety of foliage designs, grotesques, fishes and a mermaid. St. Thomas’ Chapel was added in the mid-15th century, and the St. Nicholas Chapel was added in c. 1485. The spire was also a 15th century addition. Inside the church is a 15th century font and a 15th century bell with the letters ‘Sancta Anna’. The tower is positioned to one side of the chancel and dates from the late 13th century. The first floor served as a chapel, and still has a stone altar and piscina (a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessel) in place. The church contains several memorials, including the tombs of Thomas and John White, both Mayors of Tenby in the fifteenth century. Thomas White was famous for hiding a young Henry Tudor from King Richard III. in a cellar, under “Boots” and to this day Tenby schoolchildren are given the chance to enter this cellar and traverse the secret passage that leads from “Boots” to the church. There is also a wall tablet in memory of Robert Recorde, (See my earlier blogs), who introduced the equals sign ( = ) to mathematical calculation. During the first civil war, Tenby was besieged by Cromwells’ Roundheads and musket ball holes can still be seen in the church to this day. The gardens of remembrance to to the rear of the church are a magnificent oasis of calm in the bustling centre of Tenby and are overflowing with roses during the Summer. Words alone cannot describe the beauty of this church and FBM Holidays, www.fbmholidays.co.uk, have accommodation in the centre of Tenby for you to enjoy this historic building at your leisure. DS