St Mary's Church, Gladestry

St Mary's Church is an active parish church in the village of Gladestry, Powys, Wales. The village lies east of Builth Wells close to the border with England. The church is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building.

St Mary's,
Church of St Mary the Virgin
St Mary's, Location in Powys
52.1888°N 3.1268°W / 52.1888; -3.1268
OS grid reference	SO 230 551
Location	Gladestry, Powys
Country	Wales
Denomination	Church in Wales
History
Status	active
Dedication	Saint Mary the Virgin
Associated people	Reverend Rachael Storer (priest)
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	21 September 1962
Architectural type	Church
Groundbreaking	13th century
Administration
Diocese	Swansea and Brecon
Archdeaconry	Brecon
Deanery	Radnor and Builth
Parish	East Radnor Ministry Area

History

The Church of St Mary stands in a rectangular churchyard in the centre of the village of Gladestry, some 6km to the west of the Herefordshire town of Kington.^[1] The church dates from the 13th century, although possibly with earlier origins, and was enlarged in the 14th.^[2] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) records that the spire, atop the 13th-century tower, dates from the 18th century.^[2] The church was twice restored, at the beginning and at the end of the 20th century.^[3]

The church remains an active parish church in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon and occasional services are held.^[4]

Architecture and description

St Mary's consists of a nave, a chancel with a bellcote above, an aisle, a western tower and a south porch. The building material is mainly local rubble.^[1] The roofs and spire are clad in shale slates.^[5] Parts of the interior are floored with encaustic tiles by William Godwin & Son of Lugwardine.^[5] Robert Scourfield and Richard Haslam, in their Powys volume in the Buildings of Wales series, describe it as a "handsome and relatively large church".^[6] St Mary's is as a Grade I listed building.^[3]