Parish Church of St Tanwg

Cadw's description

Location

Located within its own churchyard set back on a bend in the town's main street (Stryd Fawr).

History

Parish Church built 1838-40 on land provided by Sir Robert Williams Vaughan of Nannau and Hengwrt Bart., a prominent North Walian landowner and benefactor. The church superseded the former medieval garrison chapel located near the castle.

Exterior

Small parish church in simple lancet style. The plan consists of a 3-bay nave with small 2-bay chancel and a short N aisle. Slatestone construction, with coursed, squared blocks, and buff sandstone dressings; shallowish slate roof with coped and kneelered gable parapets and gable cross to the E; tiled ridge and moulded sandstone eaves. The W facade is symmetrical and has a shallow gable with buttresses set back at the corners. This has a central pointed-arched entrance with smaller flanking lancets and a triple lancet group to the centre above; all have splays and moulded, returned labels, the entrance with boarded door. Gabled bell-cote, corbelled-out slightly to the W and with segmental chamfered bell opening.

The S side of the nave has narrow buttresses with sandstone gablets defining the bay divisions; wide pointed-arched lancets with splayed reveals and moulded, returned labels. The N side is similar in the 2 westernmost bays, the third being occupied by the N aisle. This is gabled as before and has a similar arched window. The narrow chancel is stepped-down and set back from the nave and has buttressing as before; splayed lancets to each side with a triple lancet group to the unparapeted E gable. A C20 corrugated iron lean-to on brick piers is extruded in the NE corner between the nave and chancel.

Interior

Plain interior with plaster removed from all nave walls except around the chancel and S transept arches; slate-flagged floors. Seven-bay roof with straight braced collar trusses with king-posts and small raking struts above the collars. Plain W gallery with C20 partitioning of the lower section; moulded rail and sill-beam. At the W end is a C15 Perpendicular font; octagonal and of sandstone, with blind tracery panels and quatrefoils to the base and basin, the latter with a quatrefoil to each face. This presumably comes from the predecessor of the present church. Simple octagonal oak pulpit with punched quatrefoil above 2 trefoil-headed lights on each face; moulded base and top.

A chamfered and pointed chancel arch leads to the stepped up chancel; simple tiled pavement. Thin arched-braced collar truss roof of 2 full and 2 half bays, the braces returned onto moulded corbels with applied shields. Oak choirstalls in simple Gothic style with scrolled bench ends; plain C20 altar rails. The E wall has a shallow pointed-arched recess containing the E window group.

The N transept has a depressed pointed arch and is occupied by a simple early C20 Gothic organ.

Stained and Painted Glass: the E windows have figurative scenes showing the Assumption flanked by the Nativity (L) and a scene of the Mourning Magdalen (R); dated 1943 and in memory of F J Parker-Jones. Nave SE window has a panel showing Christ as Good Shepherd; similar dedication.

Reason for designation

Listed as a largely unaltered early Victorian town church in simple pre-ecclesiological Gothic style.