St Michael and All Angels stands outside the village of Castlemartin, adjacent to two holy wells which may indicate the site held religious significance in pre-historic times. A cross, dating from the 7th–9th centuries, was discovered embedded in the church wall in 1922, but has subsequently been lost. The main body of the current building dates from the 13th century, although the centrally-placed tower is later, of the 14th or 15th centuries. The church was restored, firstly in the early 19th century, and again in 1858.
The church has some notable Victorian stained glass from the studios of Hardman & Co. and Heaton, Butler and Bayne. A Hardman window of the Crucifixion, to a design by Augustus Pugin, has been described as the best example of Pugin's work of any church in Wales. The church contains a First World War memorial commemorating three men from Castlemartin who were killed in the conflict. The church was declared redundant in the early 21st century and is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
St Michael's is a Grade I listed building. The adjacent vicarage, now derelict, and a mounting block in the churchyard have their own listings.
References:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.