© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Llanfihangel Abercowin Old Parish Church is a medieval church in Wales, set upon Silurian claystone bedrock. The site is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage body, under reference CM144. The church occupies a landscape shaped by ancient geology, its foundations resting on the fine-grained sedimentary deposits laid down over 400 million years ago during the Silurian period, later affected by Devonian earth movements that hardened the original clays into stone.
The church is distinguished by its collection of Norman grave-slabs, which represent a significant phase of medieval religious life. These carved stone monuments reflect the status and devotion of individuals buried at the site during the Norman period, a time when the church held considerable importance in its local community. The slabs display the craftsmanship characteristic of their era, carved in the limestone and stone available to Norman sculptors.
The survival of the old parish church and its grave monuments provides insight into continuity of sacred space in medieval Wales. Many Welsh churches of this period occupy sites with much earlier Christian associations, and Llanfihangel Abercowin's enduring presence in its rural location illustrates the persistent spiritual geography of the medieval Welsh landscape. The combination of Norman ecclesiastical architecture and commemorative stone-work makes the site valuable for understanding both Norman influence and indigenous Welsh Christian practice.
Llanfihangel Abercowin Old Parish Church & Norman Grave-Slabs is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM144. View the official record →
Llanfihangel Abercowin Old Parish Church is a medieval church in Wales, set upon Silurian claystone bedrock. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CM144.
Llanfihangel Abercowin Old Parish Church & Norman Grave-Slabs dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a church. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Llanfihangel Abercowin Old Parish Church & Norman Grave-Slabs is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is CM144.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Delacorse Uchaf Standing Stone (1.7 km), Hillslope Enclosure at Laugharne Park Holiday Village (2.2 km), Laugharne Castle (2.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Llanfihangel Abercowin Old Parish Church & Norman Grave-Slabs's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Llanfihangel Abercowin Old Parish Church & Norman Grave-Slabs stands on Silurian claystone, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is claystone.