St Lawrence’s, Gumfreston — Open Again after Restoration, Fridays to Sundays until 31 October 2026

For three years St Lawrence’s at Gumfreston, a small medieval church two kilometres west of Tenby, was a building site. Declared at risk in 2021, it was taken on in 2023 by Friends of Friendless Churches, the charity that rescues redundant churches in England and Wales, and repaired from the roof down: the ivy came off the tower, the concrete tower roof gave way to timber, the nave and chancel were re-slated, and the walls were repointed in lime. The last phase, the conservation of the medieval wall paintings hidden under whitewash and damaged by damp, ran from autumn 2025 to spring 2026. The church is now open again, and until the end of October 2026 the Friends aim to open it every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Visitors find a church that grew over four centuries: a chancel and nave of the twelfth or thirteenth century, a fourteenth-century transept and porch, a south chapel, and the large fifteenth-century tower typical of Pembrokeshire, which holds a bell dated to 1350 and a medieval columbarium built into its walls. On the north wall of the nave, in a semicircular recess, is the painting uncovered in 1980 and read as either St Lawrence or a “Christ of the Trades”, the figure of Christ surrounded by the tools of everyday work, a subject the Friends describe as one of only four known examples in Wales. Further painted fragments emerged during the repairs.

Below the church, at the bottom of the churchyard, are the three holy wells that give Gumfreston its other claim: one spring of plain water, two chalybeate, each once credited with a cure, and still visited on Easter Sunday by people who throw nails into the water where bent pins were once offered.

During September 2026 the church also opened on Saturdays for heritage open days, with talks by the local historian Angela Jones on 19 and 26 September, as reported by the Pembrokeshire Herald. The opening rota depends on local volunteers, so it is worth checking with the charity before travelling.

Practical details

• When: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 am – 4 pm, until 31 October 2026
• Where: St Lawrence’s Church, off the B4318, Gumfreston, Tenby, Pembrokeshire SA70 8RA, Wales
• Admission: free; donations support the charity’s churches
• Organised by: Friends of Friendless Churches
• Contact: the charity’s office, weekdays 10 am – 4 pm
• Programme: published by Friends of Friendless Churches

Cultural Heritage Online lists this opening for readers following medieval churches, wall painting and the holy wells of Wales.