St Mary's Church was both the priory church of the medieval Benedictine Cardigan Priory and a parish church. It continues as a parish church.
While the church was a 12th century foundation, the present building dates from the fourteenth century, although substantially rebuilt. In the thirteenth century St Mary's Priory church was the site of the shrine of Our Lady of the Taper, which was demolished at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The porch was rebuilt in 1639. In 1705, the tower collapsed; it was rebuilt over the next 40 years and was finally completed in 1748.
The stained glass window in the east wall of the chancel was installed in 1924, and depicts the Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St John. Surviving fragments of fifteenth century glass are set in the upper tracery lights.
Dr David Rowlands, Inspector of H.M. Hospitals and Fleets, Royal Navy, died in 1846. He is commemorated by a memorial tablet inside the church.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.