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.
Sited below and to the north of the plateau which carries the village but forming a striking object from every direction as the most prominent building in north-west Cardiff.
Reference AA Route Planner OS Map 171 Cadw Listing Notice 13710
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.
There was a pre-Norman monastic church here rebuilt 1120- c1170 onwards by Urban, the second Norman Bishop. This work can be seen in the sanctuary arch, two doorways and some fragments. Most of this work was replaced by Bishop Henry of Abergavenny in C13, the choir, nave and west front survive from this period. The Lady chapel is also late C13 while the nave aisles were remodelled in the C14. In the late Middle Ages, there were two towers along the west front – the Jasper tower survives. A great storm of 1703 caused much damage and in 1734 John Wood the elder of bath was employed to fashion a new church out of the choir and east end of the nave. In carrying out this work he created a ‘Pagan Temple’ based on his theories about the form of the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. This cost £7,000 and existed within the confines of the ruins of the earlier cathedral. John Prichard, The son of the senior Vicar Choral began the restoration with the Lady chapel east window in 1843 and in 1945 he was in sole charge and then in 1852 he was commissioned to restore the building unpicking Medieval work and demolishing Wood’s ‘Temple’. Happily, this work by Prichard found that much medieval fabric had been used by Wood. As a result, the west front and nave were restored to their medieval glory. The only remains of the Wood work was an urn in the Processional way. Now working in partnership with J P Seddon the work was finished in c1870. In January 1941 a land-mine exploded outside the west front making the cathedral a ruin once more. Repairs were initiated by Sir Charles Nicholson, the cathedral architect but he died in 1949. George Pace completed the work finishing in 1960. |He lowered the choir arch, changed the shape of the Chapter House roof and placed a division between the nave and the choir. The spire which had been dismantled in 1941 was restored in 1956.
Reference
Buildings of Wales – Glamorgan 2001
Historic Wales Listing notice13710
A description of the exterior of the church and the main features of the churchyard.
The Geology of the building stone – a range of stones have been used in the construction of the cathedral: Urban’s cathedral was built with Sutton stone from St Bride’s Major, this being the nearest good-quality freestone. The roofs are covered with Welsh slate and lead, almost entirely replaced after the Second World War. The plan is of a nave with north and south aisles and paired west towers then the nave contains the choir, sanctuary and ambulatory. The lady chapel is only partially contained within the nave, it has Purbeck marble window shafts internally and external like the Chapter house the blue lias has been patched with Ink Radyr stone. The Chapter house, which was built using the local blue lias with dressings in Sutton and Dundry stone and patched with Pink Radyr stone, is to the south while St David’s chapel is to the north, this was designed by George Pace and its walls have both glacial pebbles and Pennant sandstones. The west front is the gabled end of the nave, built in the Early English style with smooth C13 ash and flanked by the Perpendicular Jasper Tower which was built with small regular blocks of coarse lias, and to the south west the Victorian tower which during the C19 restoration fresh stone was incorporated into the building, notably Limestone from Chipping Camden for the south west tower giving it an orange hue. The three-stage north-west tower has full height stepped buttresses and an octagonal stair turret and at the top a battlemented parapet, the corbel table is pierced and there is a tall stone spire with corner pinnacles. The lych gate is built with Radyr and Forest of Dean stone.
Historic Wales Listing notice 13710
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.
Inside the cathedral the dominant feature is Sir Jacob Epstein’s ‘Christ in Majesty’ created in 1957 for which George pace used brush hammered concrete. The roof space is of ten bays with the nave and choir being divided by the concrete parabolic arches designed to carry organ popes and the ‘Christ in Majesty’ is the front of this feature. The division marks the position of the west front of John Wood’s ‘Temple’. Most of the work her is medieval but the clerestory is Prichard’s and timber ceilings are George Pace. His work is also to be seen in the choir stalls reusing parts of Prichard and Seddon’s ones but the Bishop’s Throne survives. The reredos in the north choir aisle is medieval with an all over pattern of blank ogee crocked arches – it was probably the medieval high altar. The font is by Alan Durst, installed in 1952 it is egg shaped of Hopton Wood stone and with a domical wooden cover. The reliefs show the ‘Fall’ and the ‘Redemption’, with scenes, at the base, of the loves of Welsh Saints. Pace’s pulpit came in 1957, is painted black wood (Pace wanted green paint). A painting under the north west tower is a former altar piece ‘The Seed of David’ and is the work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted between 1855 and 1864, initially used by Prichard and Seddon for the high altar. The Stained Glass. ‘The Supper at Emmaus’, designed by John Piper – artist Patrick Reyntiens, 1959; ‘The Annunciation and Visitation from Scenes from the Gospels’, Geoffrey Webb 1928 and 1952; ‘Tree of Jesse’ Geoffrey Webb, 1951; ‘David, St Stephen and Samuel with scenes from the Gospels’ from the firm Morris, Marshall. Faulkner & Co, designers William Morris and Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1869; ‘St Simon, St Peter, St Jude and Scenes from the New Testament’, from the firm Morris, Marshall. Faulkner & Co, designers William Morris Ford Madox Brown and Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1874; ‘St Simon, St Peter, St Jude and Scenes from the New Testament, St Teilo, St Tudful and St Elfan’, Robert J Newbery from the firm of Charles Powell, 1910; ‘Moses with St John the Baptist and St Paul’, from the firm Morris, Marshall. Faulkner & Co, designers William Morris and Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1868; ‘King Arthur, King Tewdrig and King Cadwaladr’, Charles Powell, 1919; ‘Christ with Elizabeth, John the Baptist and Zechariah’, from the firm Morris, Marshall. Faulkner & Co, designers William Morris and Ford Madox Brown, 1866; ‘The Crucifixion with Virgin Mary, St John and St Mary Magdalene’ J Silvester Sparrow, 1906; ‘Ruth, Dorcas and Anna, W F Dixon, c1883; ‘Christ with Two Kings’, Burlison & Grylls, 1909; ‘Crucifixion with Four Evangelists’, from the firm Morris, Marshall. Faulkner & Co, designers William Morris and Ford Madox Brown, 1868.
Buildings of Wales – Glamorgan 2001 Historic Wales Listing notice 13710 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.