St Mary’s began as a Benedictine priory and is sometimes called the Westminster Abbey of Wales for the run of medieval tombs and effigies inside. Its great treasure is the Jesse figure — a huge reclining figure carved from a single oak around the 15th century, the only surviving wooden one of its kind in Britain, once the root of a full carved tree of Jesse. It stands in the centre of Abergavenny, minutes from the station.
