St Peter's Church, Carmarthen
Denomination: AnglicanDedication: St Peter Note: It is not known exactly when St Peter's, Church was founded. Priory Street was once the main road of the Roman town of Moridunum and St Peter's is located beside the west gate of the old town. It possible there were Roman buildings on the site, but when archaeologists excavated the east end of the church in 2000/2001, they found no signs of Roman buildings there. The first written evidence of the existence of the church appears circa AD 1100. Between 1107 and 1115 the church was given to Battle Abbey in Sussex. Then in 1125, St Peter's was given to the Priory of St John and St Teulyddog, a monastery at the other end of Priory Street. Until the 19th century, St Peter's was the parish church for the whole of Carmarthen. For much of the Middle Ages, Carmarthen was the centre of English administration in Wales, and into the 16th century it remained the largest urban centre in Wales. The size of the building reflects this long history: the nave and chancel date from the 14th century, the tower from the 15th and 16th centuries. Of the eighty monuments visible in the church, the oldest is a 13th century tomb slab displayed on the north wall of the nave. The most imposing monument is a large table tomb bearing effigies of Sir Rhys ap Thomas (d. 1525) and his wife Lady Janet. [Adapted from details on the St Peter's Carmarthen parish website]. Photography: John Ball Date: 13 September 2003 Camera: Fuji Finepix S602 Zoom digital
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