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History of Warren, The Church of St Mary

The Church stands on the centre ridge of the Castlemartin Peninsula, one of a line of churches stretching from Pembroke to Castlemartin. Their towers have for centuries provided not only a good lookout point in times of hostilities but also navigation marks for mariners and Warren, being the most prominent, was chosen by the Admiralty when war with France looked imminent in the 1850s, to enhance the spire as an unmistakable landmark for passing ships, coinciding with the construction of other fortifications on the Milford Haven and along the South Coast.

 

The surrounding Parish is very small, a total of 1211 acres of which most today is part of the Castlemartin Range but originally, unlike most of the surrounding area which belonged to the Earls of Pembroke, it was the property of the Bishop of St David’s, Thomas Beck (1280-93), as part of the Prebend of Brawdy, the land mainly producing grain and beans.

 

This History of the Church and Parish

 

It is presumed that the present Church dates from around 1290 though there could have been a much earlier religious site in the vicinity about which there is little documentary evidence. The Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments dates the nave, south transept, porch and lower part of the tower from the 13th Century but the Church was not mentioned in the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas (1291).

 

Soon after Bishop Beck’s time the Bishops of St David’s leased the parish to William Harold of Haroldstone, a substantial local land owner and through his granddaughter who married Peter Perrot the lease passed to the Perrot family.

 

The first record of clergy dates from 1487 when John Coke was instituted to the living. He was followed by John Makeham in 1490, 1494 Maurice ap Griffiths first and then Richard Sherwood then in 1502 Thomas apAtha. It was not a rich parish being exempt in 1513 from paying the four tenths tax to the King. Though poor we know that Churchwardens were appointed – the earliest record being that of William Lange and John ap John in 1543.

 

Three years before, Henry VIII acquired the Parish and Church of Warren from Bishop Barlow, Bishop of St David’s and gave it to Richard Devereaux, later Earl of Essex. One of his descendants is best remembered as a favourite of Queen Elizabeth. The parish remained as part of that estate until purchased by the Cawdor’s.

 

There was not a large population only 23 households in the parish in 1563 (by 1801 it had risen to 28) and the Land Tax records of 1670 tells us that 10 of the households were registered as paupers. Erasmus Saunders (1710) described the living of Warren as being one of the poorest in the area. In 1851, just before the Church was rebuilt, the Rev Thomas Dalton portrayed the parish as consisting of three farms with a few small cottages tenanted by poor labourers who were mostly Dissenters.

 

By 1855 the building was in a state of decay and Lord Cawdor commissioned the restoration, David Brandon of London was the architect and the contractor James Rogers of Tenby. A new Chancel and Chancel arch, and an arch to the South transept were built and all the windows renewed. At that time the tower was ivy covered and the stonework was perished making it necessary to case it in Forest of Dean stone 7 inches thick. The spire, originally made of wood, was unsafe and was replaced with the help of the Admiralty. New floors laid, incorporating Minton tiles carrying the coat of arms of Lord Cawdor and the Bishop of St David’s in the Chancel, and Brandon designed a new pulpit, reading desk and pews.

 

The 1970’s saw the Church again reduced to a sad state of repair, and it was closed by the diocese.

 

In 1986 the ranges at Castlemartin were heavily used by German Armoured Battalions as well as by the British Armed Forces and the British and German Commandants felt that there was a need for a place of assembly and worship for the thousands of troops, many of whom in the case of the Germans were young conscripts, passing through on training exercises. The Warren Church Trust was formed and set about fund raising with the strong support of the Ministries of Defencein UK and Germany, the Archbishop of Wales, The Welsh Government through CADW, and other local donors.  By summer 1988 the restoration was complete with a new roof, and a total interior refurbishment with some unique features which are explained below. The opening service in October 1988 was taken by the Archbishop of Wales, the Right Reverend George Noakes and attended by the Chaplain General to the Army, Anglican, Catholic and Lutheran clerics from UK and Germany and the Defence Attache from the German Embassy in London.

 

The architects for the project were Michell & Holden, Pembroke.  In January 1990, during a hurricane with winds gusting up to 112 mph, the recently restored roof was blown off, and had to be replaced.

 

 

What to look for in the Church

 

The present building consists of a chancel 33ft by 16ft a nave 44ft long by 18ft 6ins wide and a south transept nearly 16ft long by 11ft wide. As you approach it, in the north wall can be seen the outline of three arches, the remains of the north aisle pulled down in 1770 by Mr Abraham Leach whose father held the grand tithe and was responsible for repairs because, even though the roof was stone vaulted, it leaked very badly and made the whole church damp. Only one person objected and that was on the grounds that some of his wife’s family had been buried under the floor of that aisle, but it was agreed that there was sufficient room in the main body of the Church for any future burials. In the west face of the tower can be seen the outline of a filled in doorway and the tower is crowned with a corbel table and parapet.

 

The Church is entered through the south door. By the door is the font standing on a circular shaft and square base. It is perfectly plain but from the marks it did have a hinged cover, this could well have been removed in the 1850’s and the font refurbished. The present cover was made in Bergen (West Germany) especially for the Church.

 

On the left there is a wooden statue of Mary and Jesus carved by Harvey Hood. The blocked up doorway in the west end can be seen, with the door to the upper part of tower near it.

 

Displayed on the north wall are the Flags of the countries associated with the Church, England, Germany and Wales, with two display boards containing the regimental badges of the regiments who have used the range. A stone memorial plaque to General Leach on the wall by the organ is reputed to have been carved by Eric Gill. It was erected sometime after 1936. The window by it was installed by Lady Leach, in 1924, remembering Major General Leach and Henry Ince of Trecwn (Henry Ince was her uncle).

 

The Organ was built in 1842, it is reputed to have originally belonged to Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1857). It was moved to the church at Sibton Suffolk. F & E Mirehouse bought it, in 1867, for St Mary’s Church Angle.

 

20 years later it was moved from Angle to St Michael’s Castlemartin where it remained until 1988. The organ underwent a major restoration in 1916, paid for by Cecil Elinor Lambton as a memorial to her grandmother, Mary Levett, the daughter of John Mirehouse of Angle and Brownslade.

 

In 1988 it was again in need of complete restoration and was moved to Clevedon in Somerset for a total rebuild.  Although the work was done in England, the entire organ project was funded by Krauss Maffei, the industrial giants in Munich Germany who built the German Army’s Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

 

Another feature from Germany is the altar table made, like the font cover,by the staff of the German artillery ranges at Bergen West Germany from oak trees on the training area and donated by the Ministry of Defence, Federal Republic of Germany.  The old slate altar top is from Rhoscrowther Church. The stain glass in the east window was erected as a memorial in 1894 to Archdeacon Edwards.

 

Many corbels are still in situ, most prominent being those of the rood screen on the west face of the chancel arch.

 

In the south-east angle of the south transept there is the remains a plain aumbry above which is another memorial stain glass window commemorating a member of the Leach family who have been associated with the church from the late 1700’s until the 1930’s. This are has been furbished as a rest area with a photographic display and the visitors book.

 

Nearby on the wall there is a list of later incumbents. On that list one surname, Loveling, stands out. Father, son, grandson and great grandson of the family served this Church as vicars for a period of one hundred and forty seven years – is this record unique?

 

The church is a multidenominational centre, which we offer to all as a place of worship, of peace and sanctuary and as an enduring symbol of reconciliation.

 

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​Click here to download a PDF Guide to the Church (2MB)

 

 

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The Church stands on the centre ridge of the Castlemartin Peninsula, one of a line of churches stretching from Pembroke to Castlemartin. The towers have for centuries provided not only a good lookout point in times of hostilities but also a navigation landmark for mariners. It is a multidenominational centre, serving as a place of worship and of peace and sanctuary.

 

The surrounding Parish is very small, a total of 1211 acres of which most today is part of the Castlemartin Range but originally, unlike most of the surrounding area which belonged to the Earls of Pembroke, it was the property of the Bishop of St David’s, Thomas Beck (1280-93), as part of the Prebend of Brawdy, the land mainly producing grain and beans.

 

This History of the Church and Parish

 

It is presumed that the present Church dates from around 1290 though there could have been a much earlier religious site in the vicinity about which there is little documentary evidence. The Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments dates the nave, south transept, porch and lower part of the tower from the 13th Century but the Church was not mentioned in the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas (1291).

 

Soon after Bishop Beck’s time the Bishops of St David’s leased the parish to William Harold of Haroldstone, a substantial local land owner and through his granddaughter who married Peter Perrot the lease passed to the Perrot family.

 

The first record of clergy dates from 1487 when John Coke was instituted to the living. He was followed by John Makeham in 1490, 1494 Maurice ap Griffiths first and then Richard Sherwood then in 1502 Thomas ap Atha. It was not a rich parish being exempt in 1513 from paying the four tenths tax to the King. Though poor we know that Churchwardens were appointed – the earliest record being that of William Lange and John ap John in 1543.

 

Three years before, Henry VIII acquired the Parish and Church of Warren from Bishop Barlow, Bishop of St David’s and gave it to Richard Devereaux, later Earl of Essex. One of his descendants is best remembered as a favourite of Queen Elizabeth. The parish remained as part of that estate until purchased by the Cawdor’s.

 

There was not a large population only 23 households in the parish in 1563 (by 1801 it had risen to 28) and the Land Tax records of 1670 tells us that 10 of the households were registered as paupers. Erasmus Saunders (1710) described the living of Warren as being one of the poorest in the area. In 1851, just before the Church was rebuilt, the Rev Thomas Dalton portrayed the parish as consisting of three farms with a few small cottages tenanted by poor labourers who were mostly Dissenters.

 

By 1855 the building was in a state of decay and Lord Cawdor commissioned the restoration, David Brandon of London was the architect and the contractor James Rogers of Tenby. A new Chancel and Chancel arch, and an arch to the South transept were built and all the windows renewed. At that time the tower was ivy covered and the stonework was perished making it necessary to case it in Forest of Dean stone 7 inches thick. The spire, originally made of wood, was unsafe and had to be replaced. New floors laid, incorporating Minton tiles carrying the coat of arms of Lord Cawdor and the Bishop of St David’s in the Chancel, and Brandon designed a new pulpit, reading desk and pews.

 

The 1970’s saw the Church again reduced to a sad state of repair, and it was to close.

 

In 1986 the Warren Church Trust was formed as it was realised that there was a need for a place of worship for the many troops who visited the Castlemartin Range. The British and German Forces based at the Castlemartin Range, part of the parish, arranged the funding of the complete restoration which included a new roof. The architects being Michell & Holden, Pembroke.

 

Unfortunately on the 25th January 1990, during a hurricane with winds gusting up to 112 mph, the recently restored roof was blown off, and had to be replaced.

 

What to look for in the Church

 

The present building consists of a chancel 33ft by 16ft a nave 44ft long by 18ft 6ins wide and a south transept nearly 16ft long by 11ft wide. As you approach it, in the north wall can be seen the outline of three arches, the remains of the north aisle pulled down in 1770 by Mr Abraham Leach whose father held the grand tithe and was responsible for repairs because, even though the roof was stone vaulted, it leaked very badly and made the whole church damp. Only one person objected and that was on the grounds that some of his wife’s family had been buried under the floor of that aisle, but it was agreed that there was sufficient room in the main body of the Church for any future burials. In the west face of the tower can be seen the outline of a filled in doorway and the tower is crowned with a corbel table and parapet.

 

The Church is entered through the south door. By the door is the font standing on a circular shaft and square base. It is perfectly plain but from the marks it did have a hinged cover, this could well have been removed in the 1850’s and the font refurbished. The present cover was made in Bergen (West Germany) especially for the Church.

 

On the left there is a wooden statue of Mary and Jesus carved by Harvey Hood. The blocked up doorway in the west end can be seen, with the door to the upper part of tower near it.

 

Displayed on the north wall are the Flags of the countries associated with the Church, England, Germany and Wales, with two display boards containing the regimental badges of the regiments who have used the range. A stone memorial plaque to General Leach on the wall by the organ is reputed to have been carved by Eric Gill. It was erected sometime after 1936. The window by it was installed by Lady Leach, in 1924, remembering Major General Leach and Henry Ince of Trecwn (Henry Ince was her uncle).

 

The Organ was built in 1842, it is reputed to have originally belonged to Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1857). It was then moved to the church at Sibton Suffolk. F & E Mirehouse bought it, in 1867, for St Mary’s Church Angle.

 

20 years later it was moved from Angle to St Michael’s Castlemartin where it remained until 1988. The organ underwent a major restoration in 1916, paid for by Cecil Elinor Lambton as a memorial to her grandmother, Mary Levett, the daughter of John Mirehouse of Angle and Brownslade.

 

By 1988 it was again in need of restoration and was moved to and included in the restoration work at Warren. The altar table was also made at Bergen and was donated by the Ministry of Defence, Federal Republic of Germany, the old slate altar top is from Rhoscrowther Church. The stain glass in the east window was erected as a memorial in 1894 to Archdeacon Edwards.

 

Many corbels are still in situ, most prominent being those of the rood screen on the west face of the chancel arch.

 

In the south-east angle of the south transept there is the remains a plain aumbry above which is another memorial stain glass window commemorating a member of the Leach family who have been associated with the church from the late 1700’s until the 1930’s. This are has been furbished as a rest area with a photographic display and the visitors book.

 

Nearby on the wall there is a list of later incumbents. On that list one surname, Loveling, stands out. Father, son, grandson and great grandson of the family served this Church as vicars for a period of one hundred and forty seven years – is this record unique.

 

 

​Click here to download a PDF Guide to the Church (2MB)