Church of St Paul

Cadw's description

Location

Situated in a rectangular churchyard on the W side of a minor road, reached from a series of by-roads running S and SE of the B5130.

History

A church is first recorded on the site in 1715; it was rebuilt 1742 and the present building was designed by John Butler and built in 1829 at a cost of £700. Side doors and adjacent windows were blocked and the interior reordered later C19.

Exterior

Simple late Georgian style. Brown brick in flemish bond with light headers to give a chequered effect. Slate roof, hipped at E end. Rectangular plan with projecting sanctuary E end, slightly projecting tower W end. Dentil eaves cornice, windows in tall openings with round heads and stone sills are generally multipaned cast iron. N and S sides have a range of 5 windows with a blocked round headed door and window towards the W end. Tower has central arched door, there are brick and stone string courses, the penultimate stage has louvred bell openings in the N and S faces and a blind circular opening with a stone surround, probably for a clock, in the W face. There are damaged stone finials at the corners. The top stage is octagonal with a domed lead roof surmounted by a weather vane which has pierced lettering: LIRE CW 1742.

Interior

Vestibule in tower leads to nave which has a boarded ceiling, there is a shallow sanctuary with a low arch, a W gallery supported by simple cast-iron columns and a baptistry at the W end with a floor of encaustic and glazed tiles and a simple octagonal stone font. Furnishings are pitch-pine of later C19 character, organ by Bevington & Son of London, glass in E window is by Swaine Bourne of Birmingham. Arched opening at NW end leads to stairs to gallery which has original box pews with painted numbers.

Reason for designation

Listed as a good example of an earlier C19 church.