A RENOWNED local archaeologist has urged people to support a fundraising appeal to save an ancient ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Wye Valley, after Dixton Church had to be fenced off because of falling roof tiles.

The beautiful white-walled riverside church is thought to date back more than 1,200 years to Anglo Saxon times, and Steve Clarke says every effort must be made to save it from crumbling.

“It could be the oldest surviving building in the area, and the history of the Dixton Church site goes back even further, thousands of years,” said Steve, who grew up on the riverside beside Wye Bridge.

“We’ve discovered Roman pieces in the churchyard and it was beside a ford and a very important pre-historic crossing over the Wye linking the Forest and Herefordshire, on a route called the ‘Royal Way’,” added Steve, an archaeologist for 60 years and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

“Local historian Keith Kissack thought the church was pre-Norman, and we’ve certainly had Anglo Saxon finds there that would back that up.

“It’s always been an important place, since people first began living here, and it’s a lovely, romantic spot,” said Steve, who has an MBE for services to archaeology and has appeared on TV shows like Time Team.

“Dixton Church really is a jewel in the crown of the Wye Valley and we need people to support the Friends’ efforts to defend it from further damage.”

Steve and fellow members of the Monmouth Archaeological Society made the discovery of possibly the world’s oldest known boatyard beside a vanished Ice Age lake on the Parc Glyndwr housing estate in Monmouth in 2013, dating back nearly 4,000 years.

And their work running the largest long standing urban amateur excavation in the UK in Monnow Street from 1990–2000 helped win the Silver Trowel for the Greatest Initiative in Archaeology.

Steve said: “It’s really important to preserve Dixton Church, such a historic and beautiful building on such an ancient site, and I’d urge the community to support the fundraising appeal, so future generations can continue to use and enjoy it.”

Visitors and worshippers can still go into St Peter’s Church, which has also been hit by recent flooding.

But Ros Robertson of the Friends of Dixton Church said: “There’s a desperate need to renovate the roof of The Nave which is currently in a dire state with stone tiles slipping off the roof.

“We have taken the precaution to surround the exterior of the building with safety fencing and ‘Danger Notices’ as a matter of public responsibility.

“For centuries, Monmouth people have looked in and nodded in the secure knowledge that Dixton Church will always be a part of the landscape and, when necessary, they have reached into their pockets to be sure that this is so.

“And if we want the children around us to grow up with the building still standing, we have to reach into our pockets to repair the main roof now.

“The stone covering on the main roof has been there for more than 100 years. The oak timbers supporting it may have been there for more than 150 years.”

Ros added: “Thieves stole the lead from the roof long ago and it was replaced with galvanised iron that has let rainwater in.

“The resulting rot and slow attack of insects has made the roof timbers start to collapse. As a result, some of the stone tiles have fallen and others could fall at any time.

“It is still safe to go inside the church at this time but without urgent repair it will not be long before the domed ceiling breaks.”

Andy Smith, a member of Keith Kissack’s family, is also supporting Dixton’s roof repair fund, and says visits to the churchyard are a reminder of how small his troubles are in the great scope of history.

“Amongst the leaning headstones, the bird song becomes louder than the grumble of A40 traffic.

“Inside the Church itself, it is always cool and quiet. I may not be sure where my soul is but I do like to feel it soothed,” he said.

St Peter’s, which is on the 136-mile Wye Valley Walk trail, is on the site of earlier churches that may even go back to Roman times, with it being described as an ‘old church’ in the Book of Llandaff as far back as 735 AD.

Long before there were bridges, the land at Dixton provided a ford over the river where the approaches were not marshland.

Evidence of Roman buildings and forges near the church indicate that the Romans used the ford when they were gathering iron-ore from the Forest and lead-ore from the Doward.

It was almost certainly in use as a crossing and meeting place long before the Romans arrived and may even have been a place for pre-Christian worship.

Anyone who can contribute to the Dixton Church roof repair fund should contact Ros Robertson of the Friends of Dixton Church on 01600 715781 or via [email protected] or drop a cheque made out to the “Friends of Dixton Church” into the Beacon offices.

*This story first appeared in the Monmouthshire Beacon on May 12*