St Edmund’s Church
St Edmund’s is an unusually large church for the size town, it was established in 1303 by the then owner of Crickhowell Castle, Lady Sybil Pauncefote, widow of Sir Grimbald, an English landowner from Gloucestershire.
It is the only church in Wales dedicated to St Edmund who was the patron saint of England at the time of the church’s founding.
The church has effigies of the Pauncefotes, with Lady Sybil’s being shown with no hands. The legend that she gave her hands as a ransom to bring her captured husband back from the Crusades has now generally been discredited. The original cruciform layout can still be made out, although only the sanctuary remains largely unchanged since the 14th century.
The spire of St Edmund’s is unusual in a Welsh church, not least for being clad in wooden shingles. It creates a landmark from virtually every approach road to Crickhowell. Controversially, a tower clock with just two dials was added in the 1860s. The church contains the town’s war memorial dating from 1934. Two of the many stained glass windows are by Charles Eamer Kempe, a well-known Victorian designer.
The church is open for visitors every day during the hours of daylight.