Church of St Dogfael, Meline explained

St Dogfael's Church, Meline
Fullname:Church of St Dogfael, Meline
Pushpin Map:Wales Pembrokeshire
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Map Caption:Location in Pembrokeshire
Location:Meline, Pembrokeshire
Country:Wales
Coordinates:52.0152°N -4.7439°W
Founded Date:1864–1865
Dedication:Saint Dogfael
Status:Redundant
Heritage Designation:Grade II
Designated Date:10 December 1997
Materials:Stone, slate roof

The Church of St Dogfael, Meline, Pembrokeshire, Wales is a redundant church dating from the 19th century. A Grade II listed building, the church is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.

History and description

The church is dedicated to St Dogfael, and was built between 1864 and 1865. The architect was Robert Jewell Withers and the patron Sir Thomas Lloyd. Lloyd, a landowner and Member of Parliament for Cardiganshire, claimed descent from the ancient Lords of Cemaes[1] and spent a considerable amount of his inheritance in pursuit of a peerage and in the construction of a number of buildings on his estate in a Gothic Revival style, including his home, Bronwydd Castle, the court house at Felindre Farchog, the restoration of the genuinely medieval castle at Newport and the little church of St Dogfael.

The church is small and simple. Lloyd, Orbach and Scourfield, in their Pembrokeshire volume of the Buildings of Wales Pevsner, describe it as "an object lesson in High Victorian geometry and minimal extraneous detail". It is built of sandstone, with Bath stone dressings and a slate roof. Constructed on the site of an earlier church, the north doorway may a genuine Norman piece, or a later medieval one, from the original structure. The church is a Grade II listed building and, having been declared redundant, is now in the care of the charity, the Friends of Friendless Churches.

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: The Death of Sir Thomas Lloyd . 12 December 2020 . Cambrian News . 27 July 1877 . 8.