St Jerome's Church, Llangwm

The church is constructed of Old Red Sandstone and is first mentioned in 1128.[2] It is built in the Early English style. It has a tower, without buttresses, a large nave and chancel and a porch.[1] Largely ruined by the 19th century, it was comprehensively restored and partly rebuilt in 1863-9 by John Pollard Seddon.[3][2] Repairs were carried out by The Friends of Friendless Churches in 2013–4.[4][5]

The church contains a remarkable medieval rood screen and rood loft, c. 1500, restored during Seddon's 19th-century reconstruction.[3] It has been described as a breathtaking sight, rising almost to the roof [6] and one of the most spectacular rood screens in south Wales.[7] It has been suggested that the village's remoteness saved the screen from destruction by the Puritans.[8] Newman writes that "the glory of the interior is the rood screen and loft",[2] which British Listed Buildings Online describes as "one of the finest in Britain" and of "exceptional richness and complexity."[1] It has been heavily, but sympathetically, restored by Seddon. Of the same, latter, date, the lectern, the font, the choir stalls, the pews and the tiling throughout the church, the whole representative of Seddon "at his most imaginative."[2]

Behind the screen, carved in the chancel arch, can be seen three "green men with verdure sprouting from their mouths."[9] The sculptures are believed to have inspired Julia, Lady Raglan to write about the "Green Man" motif in her seminal 1939 article "The Green Man in Church Architecture" in The Folklore Journal.[10][3]

Buried in the chancel of the church, though no memorial to him survives, is Walter Cradock, the 17th-century cleric born at Trefela 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the church.[7] He was inspired to become an Independent by fellow church Dissenter William Wroth.

Swansea University historian Dr Alun Withey has examined in some detail a 1671 dispute over the church seating arrangements. He reports that the village was ablaze, with divers[e] variances, quarrels and debates even lawsuits, to the utter destruction and overthrow of manie. It was left to the churchwarden, respected local yeoman farmer John Gwin, to settle matters. Gwin's notebook containing his seating plan still survives, giving us, Withey argues, a rare insight into the world of parochial life in 17th-century Wales, and thus contributes greatly to our general understanding of Welsh history.[11]

The church is a Grade I listed building.[12] It has been declared redundant and is in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. It was repaired in 2013–2014.[5]

• Jenkins, Simon (2008). Wales - Churches, Houses, Castles. Allen Lane; London;
• Newman, John (2002). Gwent/Monmouthshire. New Haven; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09630-9.