Gwent Wildlife Trust joined the Family Day at St Mary’s Church in Tintern and provided large butterfly nets and colourful reference books for youngsters from Tintern, Chepstow, Gloucestershire and even Australia trying to find butterflies, bugs and other ‘mini-beasts’ which were then identified by Kath Beasley of Gwent Wildlife Trust.

Gwent Wildlife Trust joined us and provided large butterfly nets and colourful reference books. The gathered kids, from Tintern, Chepstow, Gloucestershire and even Australia, went wild in the long grass of the old churchyard trying to find butterflies, bugs and other ‘mini-beasts’. These were then identified by Kath Beasley of Gwent Wildlife Trust.

Fundraising talks for St Mary’s are ongoing this autumn at Tintern Village Hall with the first being an interview with David Hurn, Tintern resident and legendary photographer of celebrities from Sean Connery to Jane Fonda and author of Wales, Land of My Fathers. This will be on Friday September 5th at 7 pm. Mark McCrum, ghostwriter for celebrities ranging from Prince Harry to Robbie Williams, another Tintern resident, will talk about his life and work on Friday October 3rd in Confessions of A Ghostwriter. https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/lwvbpt

A Just Giving page has now been set up for donations and fundraising with larger grant-giving bodies is ongoing:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/savestmarystintern

The Grade II listed ruin of St Mary's, the daughter chapel of the celebrated Tintern Abbey, is seriously at risk. Please help us raise match-funding for a Heritage Lottery Fund bid to preserve this ruin and return it to public use.

The Lower Wye Valley Building Preservation Trust has taken on the challenge of preserving this medieval ruin, but need your support.

“In the first instance we hope to conserve St Mary's in the same way as St James at nearby Lancaut so the ruin is returned to the public as a peaceful place to relax and unwind on its beautiful wooded hillside with fine views over the surrounding Lower Wye Valley. With seating and internal planting, this enchanting space will become a focus for well-being, arts and ecological activities that educate and improve mental and physical health.

Despite being a landmark building of architectural, historical and cultural significance, St Mary's is now ownerless, being held by the Crown Estate in escheat. Decades of poor decisions, rejected planning applications, vandalism, fire, and abandonment mean that urgent work is required.