Parish Church of St Ffraid

Cadw's description

Location

Centrally located within the village, opposite the Church Hall and Glan Conwy school. Set in walled churchyard retaining some good monuments and a sundial dated 1736.

History

Early site, associated with the Celtic St Ffraid. The present church, by John Welch of 1839-40, replaces a Perpendicular, double-naved predecessor. Broad and aisleless, the church is loosely conceived in an (unsuccessful) Romanesque style. The interior furnishings were replaced in Jacobean style in a restoration of 1907-8 by Hoare and Wheeler for the Jones-Mortimer family.

Exterior

Of snecked rubble with local limestone detailing, on a moulded plinth; slate roof with coped, kneelered and simply-corbelled gable parapets, stone crosses to E and W gable apexes. Continuous nave and chancel of 6 bays with curious lancet-type windows with chamfered jambs and unchamfered arched heads; flat buttresses between the bays with clasping buttresses at the corners. Tall projecting bell towers to W front flanking an advanced, single-storey gabled porch. The towers have shaved corners up to the bell storey where they are stopped; chamfered cill-course beneath tall arched openings, as before; dentilated cornice and shallow, pyramidal stone roofs. Further, narrower openings to central storey; these with leaded glazing. The porch is slightly recessed between the towers and has a slate roof and stone coped parapet gable, corbelled as before. Wide, double-arched entrance with chamfered jambs and voussoirs alternately chamfered and plain to give a curious geometrical appearance; wooden double doors. Lighting the upper nave, an arched W window with 2-light plate tracery. Gabled altar recess to E end, similar to the porch and with clasping buttresses; plate tracery E window. Simple pitched-roofed vestry to N side with a later flat-roofed extension adjoining to E.

Interior

6 bay hall interior with wide roof trusses. These consist of tie beams braced onto wall posts carried on plain corbels, with collars braced onto queen posts, these in turn supporting king posts at the apex; Jacobean style geometric pendants . Simple oak pews and parquet flooring and a simple (recut) Perpendicular stone font with good Jacobean style oak font cover. Fine oak pulpit in similar style with arched-panelled upper section, carved and moulded cornice and linenfold base. The W window has good figurative stained glass of c.1500, re-used, probably from the Medieval church. Heraldic glass to first and second nave windows from W on the N, and first from W on the S sides, the latter attributed to Evans; further window on the S side by Charles Clutterbuck, dated 1846. Large inscribed funerary tablet with arcaded border decoration (originally the top of a table-tomb), set into the S wall towards the E; this comes from the earlier church and commemorates Ellen, wife of Edmund Williams of Conway, d. 1643. 3 further table-tomb fragments of similar date and with heraldic carvings are set into the same wall at the W end, though they are unrelated to the Williams tomb fragment. Simple Gothick mural tablet to Thomas Jones of Kilglassyn (d.1772) and his sons, erected post 1835; simple tablet to William Williams, rector (d. 1867).

Imposing Jacobean style tripartite chancel screen with central and outer depressed-arched openings; the central one has a triple-arched overthrow, the outer ones heraldic shield overthrows with strapwork brackets and finials. Moulded classical entablature and diminutive ionic pilasters; carved spandrels and pendants to triple-arched open upper screen sections. The screen returns eastwards on both sides, each consisting of an arcade of 5 upper arches with a wide opening at the end. The N screen encloses a large organ by Blacket and Howden of Newcastle, Glasgow and Cardiff, the S side contains seating. Choirstalls within chancel with scrolled bench ends and urn finials. Raised altar behind convex altar rails with barley-twist balusters. Segmental double-arched opening to altar recess with roll-moulded detailing. Twin-light plate tracery E window within with figurative glass again by Clutterbuck. Plain linenfold panelled retable and altar, the latter with carved panels. Large Perpendicular style wall tablet to the venerable Hugh Chambres Jones of Brynsteddford, Archdeacon of Essex, and his sister; cusped Tudor-arched niche with returned label with foliate returns.

Reason for designation

A second-quarter C19 parish church in a prominent village location, retaining interesting features from the earlier church and with good-quality early C20 furnishings.