Much Marcle church stands next to
the old castle
mound known as Mortimer's castle. The church was
the religious home of the Ballons, descendants of Earl
William Fitz Osbern of Hereford and the Ballon lords of Monmouth,
Goodrich and Abergavenny. During 1275 Isolde Mortimer, the
probable daughter of Roger Mortimer (d.1282), married Walter Ballon
(1225-88) and Roger acquired an interest in Much Marcle.
The
earliest surviving portion of the church is now the thirteenth
century nave and aisles. In the mid-fourteenth century a new
chapel and chancel were built which also included a niche for the tomb
of Blanche Mortimer (d.1347). In the fifteenth century a fine,
tall tower was built between the chancel and nave, demolishing part of
the chancel. It is noticeable that the chancel and nave were not
properly aligned. The later tower takes the line of the nave and
not the chancel.
Within the large church are several
tombs,
three of which may be members of the Mortimer family. The
building contains much Old Red Sandstone as can be seen in the picture
of the nave bellow. The arcades leading to the two side aisles are
fine early thirteenth century structures. The font would appear
to be older.
In the churchyard is a yew tree thought to date back 1,500 years.
