Church of St George

Cadw's description

Location

Situated near the centre of Cwmparc N of Park Road, the main thoroughfare, set into the hillside with ground rising to N.

History

Built 1895-6 by G E Halliday, Llandaff Diocesan architect, paid for by Mrs M G Llewellyn, widow of Griffith Llewellyn, of Baglan Hall and Pentre House, the benefactor of St Peter's Pentre, cost £4500; they also provided vicarage.

Exterior

Free Gothic style. Built of snecked rockfaced sandstone with ashlar dressings; Welsh slate roof with crucifix finials. Plan of 4 bay nave, separately gabled S aisle, flat roofed SW porch, lower 3 bay chancel with large square tower against it at SE. W front has a pair of pointed arched 2 light windows with perpendicular style tracery and hoodmoulds with simple stops separated by a gabled buttress; above is an Early English style mandorla with cusped tracery. S aisle W window is a roundel with radial tracery. SW porch has four centred arched doorway with decorative spandrels and later metal gates; above is a small moulded niche with a freestanding figure of St George under a false half gabled coping; 2 three light W windows have cusped tracery. S aisle of 3 bays has 3 three light windows with cusped heads in a square headed frame, separated by tiered buttresses, and ends in a massive SE tower of 3 storeys, a single embrasure to the parapet on each face; below a bracketed string course the belfry has wide shallow corner pilasters and cusped 3 light louvred openings in a square frame. Below pilasters merge into tiered buttresses over 2 lower storeys with pair of cusped lancets at ground floor S; entrance doorway and window to E. E end has unusual 3 light window with small paired tracery lights in a stepped frame. N frontage has single cusped lancets within square headed frame to chancel and E and W nave, two triple light windows in centre bays; nave and chancel divided by tiered buttress. Deep plinth.

Interior

Unplastered rubble with ashlar dressings. Pointed moulded arches without capitals to S arcade; pointed chancel arch is wide and flanked by 2 narrow archways. Open timber hammer beam type roof. Chancel fittings include a pink alabaster reredos by Halliday and carved by Clarke of Llandaff and an unusual corner piscina in SE window splay.

Reason for designation

Listed as one of the more substantial and individual Anglican churches of the Rhondda and with an imposing tower, and as a good example of the work of Halliday.