Christ Church (Garrison Church of Swansea)

Cadw's description

Location

Gabled front facing S across Oystermouth Road and foreshore, between Argyle Street and Burrows Road, St Helen’s.

History

1871-2. Erected by John Williams Clark (donor) to plans by J T Nicholson of Hereford. Church enlarged 1883; new chancel, Lady Chapel, porch etc 1912-13 by E B Vaughan of Cardiff.

Exterior

Church orientated N-S with plan of chancel, overlapping aisles with Lady Chapel and vestry block, organ chamber and porch, hall-church nave with SW porch. Mid C13-Gothic style.

Triple gabled S front, bellcote to flat centre gable with quatrefoil oculus, 3-light Geometric window below, lower outer gables with 2-light windows. Snecked rubble facings, pale sandstone dressings, slate roofs with ridge cresting, gable parapets with crucifix finials; cat-slide roof to SW porch and twin gables to vestry block with tall twin stacks to aisle roof over. Plain 2-light Geometric tracery. 1910 rainwater heads.

Interior

Interior of chancel with ceiled and ribbed wagon roofs, angel corbels to arched braces, cresting and paterae to wall plates. Moulded side arches with foliage corbels and head stops. Tall, pointed timber chancel arch on wide foliage corbels with Evangelist stops; 4-bay nave with quatrefoil piers and crocket capitals. Scissor braces to trussed nave roofs. Cusped sedilia with piscina, intricate Perpendicular rood-screen with chained crucifix, Caen stone reredos to S chapel (formerly part of the altar in Bishop Gore’s Grammar School Chapel). Chancel window glass by W H Constable of Cambridge, 1879. S window glass by C E Kempe, 1897. Other Kempe and Powell windows.