The name or dedication of the church.
This identifies the church type. Most churches are parish churches which means they serve a specific parish or area. Other types such as chapel, daughter and mission are mostly historic designations as many are now also parish churches. Please note that former churches are no longer used for worhsip and may be in private ownership.
A unique identification number given to every church.
The name of the diocese in which the church is located.
The name of the archdeaconry in which the church is located.
This is the legal name of the parish as given by the Church Commissioners.
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There are 3 levels of listing: Grade I, II* & II. The majority of buildings which are of special interest are Grade II. A much smaller number of particularly important buildings are listed as Grade II*. Buildings of exceptional interest (approx 2% of the total number of listed buildings) are Grade I.
Ancient monuments and archaeological remains of national importance are protected by law. Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service is responsible for compiling a schedule (list) of these ancient monuments, some of which can be found in churches and churchyards. Examples can include churchyard crosses and the archaeological remains of previous churches or buildings on the site.
There are three National Parks in Wales: Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire Coast and Brecon Beacons. These protect 20 percent of the land in Wales, including precious landscapes, habitats, villages and heritage sites.
There are over 500 conservation areas in Wales. They are designated by local planning authorities for their special architectural and historic interest.
The Buildings at Risk register is managed by Cadw (the Welsh Government’s historic environment service) in order to identify the number and type of listed buildings at risk in Wales.
It is often extremely difficult to determine a precise date of construction for a church as many have been extensively altered over time. Church Heritage Cymru therefore shows a date range within which a church is believed to have been constructed. The dates are as follows: Early Medieval (pre 1066), Medieval (post 1066 to 1540), Post Medieval (1540 to 1837), Victorian/Pre WWI (1837 to 1914) and Modern (post 1914).
This is a very brief summary of the church's main features. More detailed nformation can be found in the other fields and pages (tabs) in this database.
Useful information is displayed here for people wishing to visit the church. This may include things like opening hours, catering & toilet facilities, parking, etc.
If the church has its own website the details will be displayed here.
Any further sources of information for the church will be listed here (eg. links to other historic databases).
This is the Ordnance Survey (OS) reference for the location of the church. Some locations will be approximate as this data is continuously being refined and updated.
This is the name of the Local Authoirity within which the church is located.
This describes how the church relates to its immediate and wider environment, sometimes called its setting. It describes how the church contributes to its landscape or townscape and how these things collectively contribute to the character of the area.
The City of Bangor is 405 km northwest of London via Llangollen and the A5 Telford Road, it is 96 km west of Chester along the A55 North Wales Expressway. The Cathedral is on a sloping site north of High Street.
Reference OS Map 115 AA Route Planner Cadw Listing Notice.
This is a description of the ground plan of the church.
If known, the dimensions (measurements) of the church ground plan will be displayed here.
If the footrprint (area) of the church is known, it will be displayed here.
A description of the history and archaeology of the church and its site.
CADW state that Bangor is the oldest cathedral foundation in Britain; founded c525 on the site of a Celtic clas and dedicated to St Deiniol c545. The site beside the River Adda was well hidden from the sea being in the valley bottom and by the C12 the cathedral had moved up the slope to its present site when some of the earlier structure can be seen - probably the eastern apse and nave aisles. An Early English square ended chancel was added, Bishop Anian (1267 -1305) commenced the rebuilding of the crossing, central tower and Lady Chapel. Unfortunately, the tower was burnt down in 1309. Bishop Dean and Dean Kyffin engaged in further building work in C14 and C15 and major reconstruction was carried out by Bishop Skevington (1509-1534) including the nave and western bell tower. The chapter house and Vestry to the north east came by 1721 and the Library followed which was remodelled after 1778 by Mr Wyatt with the creation of the Registry. In 1824 a full restoration was begun by John Hall of Bangor with John Foster of Liverpool reordering the interior. Henry Kennedy reroofed the choir in 1857 (this no longer exists). Between 1868 and 1880 Gilbert Scott restored the building particularly the eastern half and including the rebuilding of the crossing. The contractors were, initially Beauland of Bradford and subsequently Thompson of Peterborough. Scott had designed a tall central tower but the foundations were not strong enough to support it, nor was the money available. Only in 1966/7 did A D R Caröe create the existing structure. In essence the Cathodal to the east of the nave is now all George Gilbert Scott’s work while to the west the work was completed under his son John Oldrid Scott
Reference Buildings of Wales –Gwynedd 2009 Cadw Listings Notice The Encyclopaedia of Wales
A description of the exterior of the church and the main features of the churchyard.
The building has been constructed from rubble masonry with some dressed stone all beneath mostly lead roofs and crenelated parapets to the nave and tower. There are diagonal buttresses to the bell tower and stepped buttresses to the nave. Gabled buttresses with detached shafts are to the chancel, designed by George Gilbert Scott. There is a crossing tower and a west tower.
Reference Buildings of Wales –Gwynedd 2009 Cadw Listings Notice
Information about any noteable architects, artists, people, or events associated with the church.
Information about any important features and building fabric.
If known, a list of the church's major building material/s will be displayed here.
Any renewable energy systems the church is using will be listed here.
This section gives a general description of the interior of the church. Further details of any important internal fixtures and fittings will be listed below.
The nave is of 6 bays with a 2-order arcade carried on octagonal piers and square bases with are linked to hood moulds. Above that level the walls are rendered. There is an oak roof with bosses, crenelated tie beams and stone corbels. There are modern inner porches to the north and south and a slightly off centre 3-order tower arch with steps leading up to a further modern inner porch. The chancel has an encaustic tile floor and canopied choirstalls beneath a 5-bay limed timber roof created by George Gilbert Scott. The transepts have 3-bay hammerbeam roofs and the south serves as the Lady Chapel.
The fittings: An Oak reredos with many carved figures and angel finials was created by J O Scott in 1881 and gilded in 1984. J O Scott also created the Cathedra (The Bishop’s Throne), the choir stalls and the clergy stalls to his father’s designs; A C15 misericord which is exhibited in the west of the cathedral; A delicate Oak screen of 1908by J O Scott. Further screens in the Crossing and south transept, a further reredos from 1950 designed by Caröe and carved by Harold Youngman; A Carved pulpit of Caen stone deigned by G G Scott after Italian prototypes, it has a moulded base and a stem with heraldic shields in cusped panels on each face, the bowl having a crude frieze of circled quatrefoils.
There is a late C5 wooden sculpture removed from Llanrwst Church to Gloddaeth or possibly the figure described in a poem of 1518 from the Dominican Friary at Rhuddlan. It is a near life size (but with missing arms) Christ, seated and bound before and with the emblems of his Crucifixion. Such carvings are rare in Britain.
Five wood carvings of saints dating from early C16 and are probably Flemish; two further carvings from the mid C17 show the Madonna and child and Christ the King holding an orb. There is a tomb in a recess in the south wall which traditionally contained the body of Owain Gwynedd – the dead body c1170 had been buried by the high altar so this tomb must date from its resitting.
The stained glass: ‘Te Deum Windows’, James Powell & Sons, the designers were James Hogan and J W Brown,1911, on the north wall of the north aisle; ‘Aaron, Moses and David’ 1840/43, on the west wall of the nave; ‘St Peter, St John and St Paul’, David Evans 1840/43, on the north wall of the north aisle; ‘St Luke, St Matthew and St Mark’ 1840, David Evans, on the south wall of the south aisle; ‘Christ in Majesty with Scenes from the Bible’, Mayer & Co, 1886, on the south wall of the south transept; ‘Scenes from the Life of Christ’, Clayton & Bell, 1873, on the east wall of the presbytery; ‘Scenes from the Acts of the Apostles’ Clayton & Bell, 1880, on the south wall of the presbytery; ‘St Elbod, St David and St Cyndeyrn’, Burlison & Grylls’ 1906, on the south wall of the south aisle; St Seiriol, St Ceinwen and St Cybi’, Burlison & Grylls, 1928, on the south wall of the south aisle; ‘St Dyfrig, St Deiniol and St Beuno’, Burlison & Grylls, 1905, on the south wall of the south aisle. Two further windows have early revived glass from 1838 by David Evans of Shrewsbury – these were in the east window.
There are three bells, two cast by Thomas II Mears in 1842 and one cast by James Barwell in 1878.
Reference
Buildings of Wales –Gwynedd 2009 Cadw Listings Notice A National Bell Register - George Dawson's Website - Homestead Stained Glass in Wales
Information about the church's important internal fixtures and fittings.
Information about the church's important moveable items and artworks.
A description of the ecology of the churchyard.
Information about the presence of bats in the church building or churchyard.
Records whether the church has been consecrated.
Records whether there have been burials in the churchyard.
Records whether the churchyard is still being used for burials.
Records whether there are any war graves in the churchyard.
Any important churchyard structures will be listed here.
Signifiance levels are set at high, medium and low.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship of the church to its surrounding area and helps place it within its wider landscape context.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the significance of the historic building fabric of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the historic significance of the interior of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship between the church and its community.