St David's Church

Cadw's description

Location

Prominently sited in an open churchyard on the corner with Church Street, gabled W front to High Street.

History

1846-7. Designed by T H Wyatt and D Brandon, architects of London; later alterations include 1936 enlargement of old school buildings to form a church hall with attached vestries. Mid-C13 English Gothic style.

Exterior

Snecked rubble facings, pale freestone dressings, slate roofs. Plan of aisled nave, S porch, vaulted W porch within gable end, lower chancel. Extensive hall and vestry blocks to E and NE. Openwork gabled bellcote with crucifix and corbelled headstop over W front with kneelered parapet. Depressed arch with nook shafts to frame for trefoiled gable light. Corner buttresses flank ashlar arcading with taller centre arch which groups trefoil lancets and quatrefoil to W window; foliage trails to spandrels and stops to hoodmoulds, stiff-leaf capitals to attached shafts. Similar treatment to heavily moulded W door of two orders with cusped opening, boarded doors with strapwork hinges.

Side elevations with paired cusped lancets to clerestory and buttressed aisles with 2-light plate tracery windows. Gabled S porch with headstops to hoodmould. Triple lancets under quatrefoil to E chancel with unusual buttress treatment to central blind lancet of S wall.

Attached hall block at right-angles to chancel, simpler gable treatment with twin lancets to Church Street; ca 1900 block to N with extensions in angles.

Interior

The interior is largely unaltered with open-rafter trussed roofs, tall moulded chancel arch with trefoil shafts and bushy stiff-leaf capitals. 6-bay nave arcades with quatrefoil piers and moulded caps etc. W gallery with trefoil-panelled front.

New furnishings provided in 1936 included new altar, pulpit, choir stalls etc.

Reason for designation

Part of a good group of listed public buildings in town centre.