Historic churches and other Christian sites in South Wales

  • St Cadoc's church at Aberpergwm was a chapel of ease in the parish of Cadoxton (Neath Port Talbot. It was rebuilt in 1840 by the local squire William Williams, and restored again in 1883.
    St Cadoc's church at Aberpergwm was a chapel of ease in the parish of Cadoxton (Neath Port Talbot. It was rebuilt in 1840 by the local squire William Williams, and restored again in 1883. The fashion for gothic architecture had already made itself felt in 1840, but unusually here is not combined with High Church notions of how a religious building should be ordered – the design of the chancel incorporates seats for the squire's family rather than being set aside for the priest and choir.
  • The whole of the parish church of Trevethin (Torfaen) with the exception of the tower was rebuilt in 1845, with money raised by public subscription
    The whole of the parish church of Trevethin (Torfaen) with the exception of the tower was rebuilt in 1845, with money raised by public subscription. A substantial contribution was made by the Hanbury family, the most important local industrialists, and the north transept served as their family pew. The architect was T H Wyatt, who was also employed to design other new churches in the diocese of Llandaff. The interior fittings included galleries at the west and over the north aisle; later in the 19th century galleries went completely out of fashion and were removed from most churches where they existed.
  • Some architectural historians regard St Catherine's church, Baglan (Neath Port Talbot), as John Prichard's masterpiece. It was built between 1875 and 1882
    Some architectural historians regard St Catherine's church, Baglan (Neath Port Talbot), as John Prichard's masterpiece. It was built between 1875 and 1882 at the expense of Prichard's cousin, Griffith Llewelyn who lived at Baglan Hall. It is in Decorated style with a richly ornamented interior that includes extensive use of coloured stones from Glamorgan quarries. Prichard was one of the leading church architect in the diocese of Llandaff in the middle of the 19th century, either working alone or in partnership with J P Seddon.
  • The architect, J L Pearson, adopted a Romanesque style based on the architecture of Burgundy rather than Britain and created an apsed church with a harmonious and dignified interior
    Merthyr Tydfil was originally a sparsely populated agricultural parish in the uplands, but the rapid growth of the iron industry in the 18th and 19th centuries brought in thousands of people to live and work in the area. The medieval church, which formed a focus for the settlement, was rebuilt in 1820-21. However, in the 1890s it was given an extensive makeover which reflected the town's prosperity and pride. The architect, J L Pearson, adopted a Romanesque style based on the architecture of Burgundy rather than Britain and created an apsed church with a harmonious and dignified interior.
  • St Johns, Danescourt (Cardiff) was the medieval parish church of Radyr. We have no documentation for its rebuilding, so we do not know when it was carried out, nor who the architect was. Although the church is a fairly typical piece of Victorian architecture with nave, chancel, south porch, and a small vestry on the north side of the chancel
    St Johns, Danescourt (Cardiff) was the medieval parish church of Radyr. We have no documentation for its rebuilding, so we do not know when it was carried out, nor who the architect was. Although the church is a fairly typical piece of Victorian architecture with nave, chancel, south porch, and a small vestry on the north side of the chancel, it has some less common details such as the random wall facings, and the small square bellcote.
  • There is nothing visible at Blaina (Blaenau Gwent) to suggest that St Peter's church goes back any further than the middle of the 20th century, apart from the handful of Victorian memorials around the outside. However, there has been a church on this site since the Middle Ages, when it was known as Aberystruth and was a chapel of ease to Llanwenarth church near Abergavenny
    There is nothing visible at Blaina (Blaenau Gwent) to suggest that St Peter's church goes back any further than the middle of the 20th century, apart from the handful of Victorian memorials around the outside. However, there has been a church on this site since the Middle Ages, when it was known as Aberystruth and was a chapel of ease to Llanwenarth church near Abergavenny. The medieval church burned down and was replaced in 1857 by neo-Norman structure which served the growing industrial community at the head of the Ebbw valley. It was the local industry that eventually undid this new building, as it became unsafe due to subsidence caused by mining and had to be pulled down. The present church was built in 1966.

The Church in the Victorian period and later


In the early part of the 19th century, the spiritual malaise that had affected the institutional church in the 18th century and had led to the split with the Methodists still continued. A series of Tracts for the Times was published by leading reformers arguing, among other things, for greater emphasis on the sacraments: the ´Oxford Movement´ was born, which was to have profound effects on the liturgy of the Anglican church. At around the same time, a group of academics at Oxford and Cambridge began to promote the study of medieval church antiquities and architecture, founding the discipline which became known as ecclesiology. The influence of these two movements together fundamentally altered the appearance of Anglican churches in England and Wales. Coupled with this was a realisation that the system of historic parishes was no longer fit for purpose: tens of thousands of people in industrial communities had no local church they could conveniently attend.

On the organisational side, a concerted effort was made to require clergymen to live in the parishes they served. This put any deficiencies in the condition of the parish church (partly caused in rural parishes by an agricultural depression after the Napoleonic wars) much higher up the agenda, and the attention of the vicar and the squire started to turn to restoration. In industrial areas where places of worship had been lacking the industrialists usually sponsored Anglican churches, leaving their workforces to build Nonconformist chapels if they wanted them. This led to the establishment of whole industry of architects who designed according to these principles, the craftsmen with the skills to realise their creations, and a mail-order business to supply the furniture and fittings for inside.

Passions ran high over the ´correct´ way to design and order a church. The ecclesiologists promoted gothic architecture, the Decorated style in particular, as the only suitable architecture for churches, and were prepared to publish vitriolic criticism of buildings they disapproved of. They also attacked Georgian churches and those built in the simple local post-medieval vernacular tradition. Whilst significant rebuilding was clearly needed for churches which had developed structural problems, the wholesale redesign involved in many cases seems to have been the result of prejudice.

From the 1870s a more relaxed attitude was taken to design; Perpendicular became popular, and Early English was used for churches that had a tight budget. By the start of the 20th century, 138 new churches had been built in Glamorgan alone, not taking into account that fact that all the existing churches had been restored or built: South Wales was less affected than many British counties by a second agricultural depression between 1873 and 1896 because of the money that was still being brought in by heavy industry. Another 40 were built in the years up to the Second World War. Churches were still being provided for new housing developments even after the Second World War, but the architectural styles had completely changed.