page_title: Whitson
section_title: The Church
hierarchical_section_title: Whitson / Architecture / The Church
caption_attribution_description: English: St. Mary's Church, Whitson, near Newport This is a photo of listed building number 2943.
context_page_description: Whitson is a village on the outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located about 7 miles south east of Newport city centre on the Caldicot Levels, a large area of coastal land reclaimed from the sea. Administratively, Whitson is part of the community of Goldcliff.
context_section_description: The tiny parish church, with its distinctive "thimble tower," is situated to the east of the village at Porton. It is a Grade II* listed building and is thought to have originally been a chapellage of the Benedictine Priory at Goldcliff. Although the original dedication is unclear, the church is known locally as St. Mary's (not to be confused with the church of St. Mary Magdelene at Goldcliff).
  An ancient building of stone, in the Early English style, it consists of chancel, nave, south porch and a western tower, originally containing two bells. The inscription for the larger ball was "God save our King and Kingdom, and send us peace. W. and E. 1758" and for the smaller bell of the same date "Obedite".
  Prior to the 20th century the nave was restored and the chancel substantially rebuilt. There is a handsome Norman font and a stained glass memorial east window erected in 1884 by the family of Reverend John Beynon. In 1901 there were 100 sittings. The register of baptisms dates from  1744, marriages from 1729 and burials from 1728. In 1901 the living was a vicarage with a net income of £196, including 49 acres (20 ha) of glebe and residence, in the gift of Eton College and the Dean and Chapter of Llandaff alternately, and held from 1900 by the Reverend John Price.
  Bradney (1933) notes the church as "remarkable for its fine tower with a pinnacle at one corner." The church is now closed, is in a very poor state of repair, and has been placed on the council’s register for Buildings at Risk. The churchyard, which is well maintained, may still be accessed by means of a public footpath through private land. In November 2018 it was revealed that plans to convert the church to a private residence were likely to be rejected because of flood risk. Concerns were also raised over a stained glass window, dedicated to the memory of Herbert and Alice Stevens, paid for by their 14 children.
caption: St. Mary's Church in 2009
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