Church of the Holy Trinity

Cadw's description

Location

About 1km NE of Pontargothi, in churchyard on the E side of a minor road and N bank of Afon Cothi.

History

Begun for Henry James Bath of Alltyferin (demolished 1955), across the river from the house, in 1865, but completion delayed until 1878 due to the death of Mr Bath. The architect was Benjamin Bucknall, follower and translator of Viollet-le-Duc, with stained glass by Clayton & Bell and spectacular interior painted decoration by Arthur Stansell, of Taunton, under Bucknall''''''''s direction.

Exterior

A simple Romanesque style church, with some Gothic detailing, comprising nave with lower and narrower chancel, of rock-faced stone with Bath stone dressings, and slate roofs with overhanging eaves. The entrance is in the W end, which has a round-headed doorway with a single order of shafts with waterleaf capitals, tympanum with cross in low relief, and double boarded doors. Above the doorway are 3 stepped round-headed windows with sill band. The deep projecting eaves are carried on brackets (with arch-braced bargeboards removed). The 4-bay nave and 2-bay chancel have similar round-headed windows. The chancel has a 3-light E window with plate tracery, and its deep projecting eaves retains arched-braced bargeboards. On the N side is a vestry with end stack, 2-light side windows with shouldered heads, and a doorway with a similar head. Stone steps on the E side of the vestry lead to a crypt.

Interior

The nave has a boarded wagon roof and, beyond the simple pointed chancel arch, the chancel has a keeled wagon roof. On the N side of the chancel is a round-headed arch to the organ chamber and a shouldered doorway to the vestry. At the W end of the nave is a glazed wooden porch screen.

The interior walls and roofs are entirely covered with painted decoration. The nave has a moulded band beneath the roof, then a painted acanthus frieze, below which is a band of fictive blocks. Between the windows are biblical scenes within painted Gothic arches. The windows have painted reveals, some with painted memorial inscriptions, and beneath the sills is a further band of decoration. The W wall is decorated in similar fashion with sayings from the Bible enclosed in painted arches. The chancel decoration is in similar style but more elaborate, with gilding to painted arches, and a painted band imitating wall hangings at dado level. The roof has richer painted decoration over the sanctuary.

The slender round font is dated 1900 and has a blind arcade around the bowl. The pulpit is in polychrome marble and also has blind arcaded decoration. Wooden pews and choir stalls, low wood and wrought iron altar rails.

Windows have good contemporary stained glass. The E window depicts the Transfiguration, Crucifixion and Ascension. The N and S chancel windows have representations of the Trinity. In the nave, the W window has biblical scenes, and figures of the Bath family below, the N windows have the 4 Evangelists, and the S windows Old Testament prophets.

Reason for designation

Listed grade II* as a C19 church with exceptionally elaborate and well-preserved interior decorative scheme.