Llanvihangel Court in Llanvihangel Crucorney is a Tudor country house. The origins of the house are medieval, with a traditional date of construction of 1471. The building was given its present appearance by a substantial enlargement and re-casing of circa 1600 by Rhys Morgan, of the family of the original owners. In the very early 17th century it was owned briefly by Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester.
In 1627 it was purchased by Nicholas Arnold and was further extended by him and by his heir John. Nicholas Arnold was a noted horse-breeder as well as Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire and was responsible for the construction of the Stable Block at Llanvihangel. His son was a notorious anti-Papist and Llanvihangel became a centre of the campaign against Monmouthshire recusants.
The court had a number of owners in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including the Earls of Oxford and Earls Mortimer. It remains a private house that is occasionally opened to the public and is a Grade I listed building. The stable block has its own Grade I listing, and the garden house, originally one of two on the site of a former walled garden, is listed Grade II.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.