Haverfordwest, St Mary's Church 1890

Photo ref: 27950

More about this scene

Dominating this area of the town is St Mary's Church. The siting of this church dedicated to St Mary is enigmatic, but was possibly built near to a re-sited market place in the late 12th century. The building was originally graced with an impressive leaded spire and was perhaps the finest of the three in the town. Its bells would have rung out over the town adding its peal to those of St Martin's, St Thomas's, the Friary and, we assume, those of the Priory as well. Nearby is a surviving medieval structure known as 'The Crypt'. Theories as to its use are plentiful but one strong contender is that it was a 'charnel vault' to store bones from the overcrowded graveyard. It was almost lost in the interests of road improvements, but fortunately an alternative scheme was settled on. The churchyard was once the setting for the town's thriving markets until townsfolk complained about the large number of butchers' stalls in the churchyard and in 1773 the churchwardens and the mayor went so far as to prevent the traders from entering the churchyard. A legal battle ensued, but the stalls were eventually relocated. A large purpose-built market house was opened in 1825.

An extract from Haverfordwest Town and City Memories.