YOU don’t have to be particularly religious to appreciate the architectural aesthetic of our churches.

As well as being physical testaments to humanity’s innate need to believe in something bigger, they are an integral part of the history and heritage of the UK.

Scattered all over Wales you’ll find both artistry and faith rendered in stone, spire, and glass in a collection of churches that all boast an individual character and have their own unique story to tell.

Yet, times change, and the number of people attending churches, particularly in smaller and rural communities, has dwindled dramatically in recent decades.

As the congregations diminished so too did the interest and support for many churches.

Left unused and neglected, many simply fell into rot and ruin. The significant funds were no longer there to repair what needed repairing and many churches were deemed beyond repair and consigned to redundant decay.

Where once people gathered to sing, reflect, pray, celebrate weddings, remember the deceased, and come together in search of the divine, there were now simply boarded-up windows, leaking roofs, creeping mould, and a layer of dust covering all.

With a slim chance of repair or restoration, many were either sold and converted or left to the slow march into dereliction.

The state of affairs couldn’t continue. For both Christians and historians, it was a crime of indifference.

In 1957, Welsh journalist, politician, sportsman, and polymath Ivor Bulmer-Thomas got together with a group of friends that included such notables as T.S. Eliot and John Betjeman, and a group named The Friends of Friendless Churches was born.

Its mission statement was to save redundant but beautiful places of worship from demolition, decay, and unsympathetic conversion.

In the early days, Ivor and his friends fought for the rebuilding of the City of London’s St Andrew ’s-by-the-Wardrobe church after it had been extensively damaged by German bombs during World War II.

They went on to save many churches from the wrecking ball and a movement was born.

The Friends of Friendless Churches believe that “an ancient and beautiful church fulfils its primary function merely by existing. It is, in itself, and irrespective of the members using it, an act of worship.”

A spokesperson for the group added, “These buildings are our greatest architectural and cultural legacy, shaping landscapes and lives for hundreds of years. They are the spiritual and artistic investment of generations, and they should survive for the benefit of future generations.”

The Friends of Friendless Churches is an independent, non-denominational charity that receives no government funding in England, and a modest grant in Wales.

However, despite their best intentions, they are still swimming against the tide.

In 2017, the BBC reported that data from the Church in Wales revealed 110 Anglican churches had closed in ten years.

The National Churches Trust for places of worship in Wales pointed to falling congregation numbers and the problem of attracting new users as the biggest problem facing the continued viability of many churches.

They highlighted that introducing new facilities in a bid to attract more people was key to keeping them open.

The trust’s head of communications, Eddie Tulasiewicz explained that rural churches were often the hardest hit. He told the BBC, “What may have been built in the 19th Century for a population of 6,000 to 10,000 people has shrunk to 2,000 or 3,000 and there’s no one left to go there.

“The thing is to think about what can be done with these buildings over and above their religious purpose. They can hold meetings; concerts can take place.

“The other thing is history and tourism. A lot of churches and chapels are exceedingly beautiful and people do want to visit them.”

During the first Covid-19 lockdown, Denis Dunstone was one such person who decided to reacquaint himself with the wonder and magic of Britain’s churches.

The former Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve and senior manager at BP was so engaged by what he saw, that he compiled a book of sketches and musings that sought to capture their uniqueness.

Denis told the Chronicle, “If you can recall we were blessed with a lovely spring at the beginning of the pandemic, and like most people I wanted to get out. I felt that surely no one would mind if I visited all the churchyards with a one hour’s drive to do a little water-colour sketching, and that’s pretty much where the first book came from.”

A book covering 50 churches, was published for his local church to sell. It was limited to a run of 200 copies but proved an amazing success.

With encouragement from the National Churches Trust, Denis was encouraged to publish a much larger book covering much of England.

It featured several hundred churches and was called “A Church Near You.”

The book, some of which Denis sketched from photographs due to the travel limitations of the time, was well received and made Denis think about publishing another book, but this time on churches in the places he had spent a large part of his early childhood - Wales!

“A Church Near You In Wales” is close to Denis’s heart because he has fond recollections of his early years when he moved to a farm in Llanvihangel Crucorney.

Denis explained, “We moved from Surrey in 1941 and rented half a farmhouse in the Llanthony Valley. My father’s insurance firm had moved office and we had to relocate. I think my parents, found it all very primitive at first compared with what they were used to.

“There was no electricity, one tap in the kitchen to serve the entire building and the lavatory was a bucket in the back garden.

“I fell in love with it immediately though. The surrounding country, the people, and the way of life. It felt like a big adventure. "Particularly the insight it gave me into farming and a rural way of life. I have fond memories for example of traveling to Abergavenny market on the back of a cart. You don’t forget those sorts of things.

“The location and isolation of that way of life made you feel close to nature in a way I’ve never experienced before.”

Denis recalled one specific incident when the family returned to the farm one evening to find an owl perched majestically on the curtain rail in the sitting room.

“It had flown in through a slightly ajar window and was just sitting there staring at us in the imperious way owls have,” explained Denis.

"As my mother and father were wondering how on earth they were going to deal with the owl, it flew up the spiral stone staircase in the corner of the room into a bedroom."

The family followed the feathered intruder upstairs and saw it flapping around in as close to a panic as owls can.

The great bird then landed on the slops bucket near the bed but as it did it accidentally tipped the self-closing lid and disappeared inside.

“It was a fortuitous conclusion for all parties,” laughed Denis. “Particularly for the owl, because the slops bucket was thankfully empty.”

They took the owl outside and released it into the star-filled night. The creature may have had a bruised ego, but everything else was intact as it took flight.

While living at Llanvihangel Crucorney, Denis attended St John’s School in Pen-y-Pound in what is now known as ‘The Cloisters’ and recalls, “There was about 20 of us in the class of mixed ages and we were situated upstairs in a room overlooking Abergavenny. There was one boy a little older than me who I later met when I was studying law in Cambridge. He would later become a Lord Chief Justice and it’s funny to think we went to the same small school in Wales together. It’s a small world!”

Denis added, “Of course, back then you could see all the railways that covered Abergavenny and as a young boy it was hard to concentrate on your work with all these magnificent steam engines rolling along the tracks.”

On one occasion Denis, who developed his love of sketching in the Navy and has since written various books on the history of railways in Wales, recalled, “I had sketched a drawing of a steam engine in my maths books. The teacher discovered it and they were not impressed, to say the least. I got a severe reprimand for that!”

As well as the surrounding railways it was also the surrounding churches that caught a young Denis’s eye.

He explained, “The artistry and architecture of churches, particularly those from the Middle Ages, have a rare and elusive quality not found in many buildings. Their towers, windows, stonework, and interiors are all special examples of the UK’s heritage.

“It’s the sort of history you won’t find in any museum but you can find it on every corner of this island. There are churches everywhere just waiting to be discovered.

“But we need to be proactive in our support of them. My own interest in churches is more architectural than spiritual and the book is written in a very accessible style that will appeal to anyone who wants to find more about these wonders on our doorstep.

“I want to get more people to visit churches and to make it easy for them to enjoy their amazing history and architecture.

Denis added, “The churches of Wales are remarkable buildings; a very important part of our heritage that bear the scars as well as the spirit of history.

“These small churches are often secluded and have become part of the countryside. They have a special atmosphere. More than in England, in Wales the location is part of the church.

“If they are to be saved for the future, more people must become engaged in their maintenance and protection.

“The Friends of Friendless Churches and the National Churches Trust have been a godsend. Both of these organisations work tirelessly to keep churches and their history alive.”

If you're planning a pilgrimage to some local churches anytime soon, there's no better place to start than St Martin's in Cwmyoy.

The phrase “crooked church” seems almost like blasphemy but it certainly applies to St. Martin’s.

Standing in the shadow of the Skirrid, which is said to have caused the landslide which the church was built upon, St Martin’s is unique in that no inch of it is square or at right angles with any other part.

Like Canterbury and Lichfield it is an “Agony Design.” Inside its strange and twisted interior, you’ll notice the altar end was built at an angle from the main body to represent the broken body of the crucified Christ. The angle has been accentuated by further subsidence so both the West and East end have now begun to lean.

Nestled in the village of Cwmyoy, which translates as 'the Valley of the Yoke', St. Martin’s and its leaning tower must be a candidate for the strangest-looking church in Wales if not the world.

Previous Vicars at the church have commented that their first sensation upon entering it was one of “disorientation” as they lurch across the altar like green-gilled sailors struggling to find their feet.

Built in the Middle Ages the church is rich in history and visitors to St. Martin’s often return year after year and marvel at the fact that it is still standing.

Yet like the faith it bears testament to, it may be weathered by the storms and bent out of shape by the ebbing and flowing of time, but its crooked stones and tower still stand and keep a lonely vigil for the promise of the resurrection to come.

If you’re planning a trip to Llanthony Priory then make sure you have a gander at the Church of St David which is a stone’s throw away from the main buildings.

Built on the earlier site of the monastic cell of St David this ancient and holy site has been a magnet for pilgrims across the centuries.

One of the Romans’ most enduring legacies to ancient Britain was their Christianity. Long after they left many Celts continued to worship Christ. When the pagan Saxons pushed the Celts back into Wales and to the North, it is said that the solitary and hermit-like figure of St David lived on this site in a cell and enjoyed a life of quiet contemplation and silent prayer.

The current church is thought to have been built by William de Lacy and consecrated in 1108.

Since its Victorian restoration in 1893, it has remained largely unchanged.

On a midsummer’s day, its historic and intriguing interior is the perfect place to escape the crowds who flock to Llanthony Priory. On such occasions, it serves as a sanctuary where a soul can find some sweet relief in its shelter of cold stone and calming atmosphere of reflection.

All in all a perfect place to have a crafty look at Denis's book and plan the next church visit on your list!

Denis Dunstone will be signing copies of his book “A Church Near You In Wales” at Abergavenny’s Book-ish on Saturday, December 21 at 1pm.