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.
Aberdare near the top of the Cynon Valley is 38km north west of Cardiff via the A470 and the A4059. The church stands in the centre of the town reached from Victoria Square.
Reference AA Route Planner OS Map 170 Historic Wales Listing notice 10841
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.
Chancel 30ft x 20ft, nave 82ft x 23ft, spire rises to a height of180ft.
Reference
Church Building and Restoration in Victorian Glamorgan Geoffrey R Orrin 2004
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.
Although the principal church in the town it is actually a daughter church to St Johns. It was built in 1851 after much lobbying by the Marquess of Bute. The designs were by Andrew Moseley and architect from London and who was a lecturer in the Arts of Construction in the Department of Applied Sciences at King’s College London. The contractor was G N Strawbridge of Bristol it cost £3,995. The designs produced by Moseley were subjected to scrutiny by Incorporated Church Building Society with result that economise ere required. (The tender price had been £4,685.) The thickness of the outer walls was reduced by six inches all round, the south door and south transepts omitted, the height of the nave reduced and the amount of bath stone and ornamental works much restricted. The church opened on 30 November 1852 but was not consecrated until25 September 1854. Perhaps not surprisingly by 1869 the fabric was found to be in great need of repair – the repairs cost £700. In 1884 the architect Thomas Nicholson reported that ‘the building was wet through and through’. The entire building was re-roofed, the chancel extended and the north porch added by a local builder – John Morgan at a cost of £2,000. In 1890 a new Perpendicular chancel screen was erected to designs by William Tate of London and painted by Dykes-Bower. G E Halliday, the Diocesan Architect, added the south aisle, the provision of vestries, new oak seating, a new heating system and lighting together with reflooring with wood blocks and the enlargement of the organ at a cost of £7,000. [The new aisle was known known as the ‘Green’ aisle after the vicar Revd C H A Green who was subsequently an Archbishop of Wales.]
Reference Buildings of Wales – Glamorgan 2001 Historic Wales Listing Notice 10841 Church Building and Restoration in Victorian Glamorgan Geoffrey R Orrin 2004
A description of the exterior of the church and the main features of the churchyard.
The church was built in the Decorated Gothic style from snecked (Dyffryn) rubble stone with Bathstone dressings with slate roofs with cresting and mostly ogee tracery windows. Having a tall tower with a set back behind a pierced parapet octagonal spire the church in dominant in the centre of the town with paired louvres at the bell stage above clock faces. The is a chancel with sanctuary and Lady chapel, an aisled nave with a north porch and transepts.
Reference Buildings of Wales – Glamorgan 2001 Historic Wales Listing notice 10841 Church Building and Restoration in Victorian Glamorgan Geoffrey R Orrin 2004
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.
There is a broad and lofty interior with 5-bay arcades to the nave between inner and outer aisles and beneath a scissor truss roof with principals springing from stone corbels. The north arcade has octagonal and cylindrical piers alternating from pier to pier each with two order arches with dying moulding. The 5-tall tower arch has been infilled with a glazed screen with a crenelated top and cusped ogee arches close to the bell ringing platform below which is a lobby with a broad arch carried on deeply foliated capitals and truncated shafts. There are narrower piers to the south arcade with collar and queen strut trusses with mock hammer beams to the principals. The chancel has a panelled and ribbed ceiling with small bosses and with a canted ceiling to the Lady chapel. The whole church is extremely well fitted out. In the nave is an octagonal wooden pulpit – probably the work of W D Caröe – with an inverted cone base and intricately with carved foliate and animal detail. In the north transept is another font with an Art Nouveau drum font with a red sandstone bowl with green marble detached stone shafts with sandstone trunks sprouting from roots, it was designed by Halliday and carved by W Clarke of Llandaff. The choir screen is by William Tate (who worked in the offices of William Kempe), it is highly colourful with ogee arches and a canopy with a rood. There is a similar screen to the Lady Chapel with double doors and a lock bar band with bosses and fleurons. Also in the Lady chapel is a panelled reredos and a linenfold War Memorial with palm leave like columns at the ends and centre, it has a crenelated top designed in the form of an altar piece wit wings. Also depicted are St George and Dragon under a vaguely Jacobean canopy with Ionic columns and ‘Dutch’ gables with a tabernacle to the Virgin Mary at the top. The chancel has a fabric reredos with a screen to the right and a 3-seat sedilia with a canopy. There are Gothic altar rails. The stained glass: ‘The Crucifixion with Saints’, Wailes & Strang, 18789; ‘St Stephen’, Robert J Newbery, 1911; ‘Jacob’s Dream, 1911; ‘Three Angels’, Robert J Newbery, 1911; ‘Welsh Saints with Scenes from the Life of St Elfan, Robert J Newbery, 1905; ‘The Resurrection’, Clayton & Bell, 1888; ‘Women Performing Acts of Mercy’, Robert J Newbery, 1902; ‘The Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard’, Robert J Newbery, 1913; ‘Christ with Children and Disciples’, Robert J Newbery, 1905-1915; ‘Christ Meeting the Centurion of Capernaum’, Robert J Newbery, 1915; ‘Women of the Bible’, Robert J Newbery, 1911; ‘Learning and Labour’, 1878; ‘The Parable of the Sower’, Robert J Newbery, 1911; ‘King David and St Cecilia’, Jones & Willis Ltd,1914; ‘St Anna and St Simeon’, Robert J Newbery, c1904; ‘Christ Calling Fishermen,’, Celtic Studios, 1952. There are 8 bells, seven were cast by C & G Mears in 1859 and one was cast by Whitechapel in1981
Buildings of Wales – Glamorgan 2001 Stained Glass in Wales Historic Wales Listing notice 10841 Church Building and Restoration in Victorian Glamorgan Geoffrey R Orrin 2004 A National Bell Register - George Dawson's Website - Homestead
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.