St Jerome
Llangwm, Pembrokeshire
St Jerome’s in Llangwm Pembrokeshire is a small rural church with a big story to tell.
Burnett’s Hill Calvinistic Methodist Chapel stands in open countryside between Lawrenny and Martletwy. It is a rare and fascinating survival of an early 19th century nonconformist meeting house, barely altered since it opened in 1813.
Built in cottage style in 1812 to serve the coal mining community of Landshipping and Martletwy, it has been little altered over the years and has a timeless charm all of its own. An unusual tradition of the chapel was that the men always sat on one side of the aisle and the women sat opposite, there are pegs for men’s hats along one wall and hooks for ladies bonnets along the other wall.
It closed in the 1970s but was thoroughly restored and reopened in 2001. Services and concerts are held on special occasions, while the displays of local history are occasionally mounted in the tiny vestry.