St Mary Magdalene Church, St Clears, Carmarthenshire. Exterior open daily. Free entry. Sunday service times vary - see notice board at the churchyard entrance.
Details
Accessibility:
There is no car park for the church but on-street parking is possible outside the entrance to the churchyard/lychgate. There are no dropped kerbs on the surrounding pavements but the kerbs are only an inch or so high. The lychgate is wide with a flat, tarmacked entrance that leads to a yard with flat, tarmacked paths and benches
There is a very small step up to the threshold of the porch and a further four inch step down into the church.The pews are also slightly raised on wooden plinths so there is a one inch step into the pew areas. Otherwise the interior is laid to stone slabs and carpet throughout.
There are no toilets on site.The closest toilets are in the central car park in St Clears. They include disability facilities, but there is a 20p charge.
Brief Description:
The Grade II* listed priory church of St Magdelaine, St Clears, is steeped in history. It was founded by one of the Norman St Clare family around 1100 shortly after the Norman Conquest and could tie in with the time of the building of the castle at St Clears. The priory was dissolved in the 15th century and some buried ruins have recently been identified to the south side of the church.
There are some remnants of the building's medieval origins with the Norman Romanesque chancel arch being a case in point. Much of the rest of the building is 14th and 15th century and the building was renovated again in the 19th century, with many medieval aspects being covered up or destroyed at that time but there are hints at doorways and staircases that linked originally the church to the priory.
There are some very fine stained glass windows and carved wood throughout the church with a number of carved stone plaques commemorating past vicars and notable figures as well as slate grave stones embedded in the walls. There are also notice boards around the church giving information and history of the site.
Further Information:
Address:
St Mary Magdalene Church, High Street, St Clears, Carmarthen, SA33 4ED
Telephone:
Rev Canon Bryan Witt: 01994 230266
Email:
N/A
Website:
https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300009409-parish-church-of-st-mary-magdalene-st-clears
Opening Hours:
Exterior open to view at any time.
Services every Sunday. Generally at 10am but times may vary. Dates and times are posted on the main notice board at the lychgate.
Directions:
The church lychgate can be found on the east side of the A4066/High Street south of the A40. The church itself is set back from the road along a path through the church yard.
OS SN281157
Transport:
There is a regular bus service around Carmarthenshire. For more travel information go to https://www.traveline.info/ or call 0871 200 22 33.
Amenities:
There are no amenities on site, but you can find plenty of places for food and drink in St Clears itself.
Travel Information
For further travel information in Wales please see: www.traveline.cymru/travel-info
Or call Traveline Cymru on 0800 464 0000
Location
Nearest Venues
War Memorial, St Clears, Carmarthenshire
699 metres*
*Distances are calculated in a straight line from the current venue, please allow extra time/distance based on available paths or roads.