Church of The Holy Trinity

Cadw's description

Location

Prominently sited in Felinfoel. Large graveyard to S with rubble boundary wall to all sides; Gothic style timber lychgate with tiled roof, steel gates; Celtic cross granite war-memoral in churchyard.

History

Felinfoel church was built largely at the expense of the Nevill family, local employers. It is by R K Penson, the County Surveyor, and is a leading work by a well known mid-C19 architect. The church was designed for 350 persons, and completed in 1857. It was consecrated by Bishop Thirlwall in January 1858. It was at first a chapel-of-ease under Llanelli, served by a curate, but in 1878 the curate, the Rev. J W Roberts, applied to constitute Felinfoel as a parish and in the following year he became the first vicar.

The church has undergone a restoration including re-roofing and the cladding of the spire in copper. Before this the middle stage of the spire in timber was visible, with louvres and five trefoils on each face. It appears the upper stage of the spire was originally shingled, the lower stage clad in slates.

Exterior

Mid-C19 church in early Decorated style with a slightly Germanic character. The layout is cruciform with a central tower and spire, nave, chancel, and two short transepts. The chancel roof is lower than those of the nave and transepts. To the N of the chancel is a double-gabled vestry and to the S of the nave a porch. The south-elevation fenestration of nave, transept and chancel is symmetrical.

Randomly coursed local sandstone with a lighter coloured stone door and window dressings and tracery. Ashlar stonework in buttresses, quoins and porch gable copings. The original pointing survives on the E, N and W sides and on the tower, but the south side has been less successfully repointed. Steeply pitched roofs with light-red tiling, restored. The roofs are slightly sprocketted out at the eaves and the verges are moderately projected, with soffit boarding and exposed purlin-ends. Small cast-iron apex-crosses at E and W. Replaced rainwater goods of square section. The spire is in two stages, now clad in copper, with a weathervane.

Porch with equilateral outer arch and label moulding on mitre and crown stops. Coping to the porch gable on kneelers with stone apex wheel-cross. Boarded inner door with heavy ironwork. The nave windows generally of trefoil-headed lancet form, with labels on block stops; small round window at high level in W gable. The N windows lack labels. One S window in the nave and one in the chancel are of quasi-traceried type, with two lights and a roundel. The E window and those of the S transept are traceried, of three lights with roundels, single 3-light window to N transept. The E window has additional cusping to the roundels. The tower has two trefoil-headed lancet windows at high level on each face. There are louvred belfry openings in the lower stage of the spire, now copper-clad.

Interior

Aisleless nave, with two ranges of simply carved pine pews. Five-bay roof with arch- braced high-collar-beam trusses. V-struts above collars. The brace-feet stand on corbels. Exposed purlins and rafters, tall ashlars. At the head of each side wall is a painted decorative frieze. A simple two-order chamfered arch, of full width without imposts, leads to the crossing. The transepts are short, in one structural bay; they have similar arches to the crossing, but with octagonal imposts. The walls have painted friezes. The crossing is high and very light. It has two arch-braced beams supporting the bellchamber and spire; boarded pine ceiling with central bell hatch. The chancel arch is slightly lower and narrower, consisting of two orders, carried on clustered colonnettes. Painted verse above the arch. Short wide chancel with three bay roof, with arch-braced collar beam trusses with V-struts above. The chancel floor is of mosaic with large tesserae. The choir-stalls have carved openwork fronts. Carved openwork altar rails. Oak altar with linenfold carving; reredos with openwork top; dedicatory inscription, 1950. Organ and vestry at N side, with double-barrel timber ceiling.

Carved and painted stone pulpit at left of chancel arch. Octagonal font on four colonnettes at W of nave.

C19 stained glass in the chancel windows; one window to Charles and Jane Nevill, c.1895. Good C20 stained glass in the nave; one nave window is a war memorial. Plain glass in the transepts.

Reason for designation

Listed as a well designed mid-C19 church, a skilful exercise in Gothic Revival, notable especially for the massing, strongly detailed about the central tower and spire.