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 Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.