St Mary's Church

It was founded around 1072 as a Benedictine priory by William FitzOsbern and his son Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford. FitzOsbern had been granted the Lordship of Striguil by his second cousin King William in gratitude for his support in the Norman Conquest of England, and was responsible for starting the building of a new castle overlooking the River Wye on the border with the kingdoms of Wales. At the same time he established a nearby monastic cell, so as to collect rent from the lands within Gwent which he had granted to his home Priory of Cormeilles in Normandy. By the early 12th century, the monastic establishment, on a ridge overlooking the river about 300 metres from the…

Part of the Norman church remains, but it has been greatly modified over later centuries. The original Priory Church was built in local yellow Triassic sandstone, with a long vaulted nave, massive piers, and a notably ornamented west entrance doorway with zigzag and lozenge patterns, dating from the early 12th century. Further work partly to restore the Norman character of the nave was begun in 1890, but was abandoned unfinished in 1913. His memorial includes an acrostic epitaph. was originally made for Gloucester Cathedral (possibly by the Dallam family). It was moved to Bristol Cathedral in 1663 and then to Chepstow possibly as early as 1685, and certainly by the 18th century. It was…