Church of St Peter

Cadw's description

Location

Within a subrectangular churchyard set well back from the NE side of the A496 at the N end of the village of Llanbedr.

History

Medieval parish church, once a chapel of ease to Llandanwg church; possibly C13, but thought by RCAHMW to be of predominantly late C15 or early C16 construction. One of only 2 churches in the commote of Ardudwy to have a chancel arch which dates to the Middle Ages. Cusped roof timbers of late Medieval or early modern period, but most roof timbers thought to date to C17. Restored by F R Wilson of Alnwick in 1883 who renewed all the windows, rebuilt the W wall, added the vestry and restored the roof, but retained the main timber work.

Exterior

Parish church comprising 3-bay nave and shorter, narrower 2-bay chancel, N vestry and S porch. Built of local rubble masonry with freestone dressings; rough stone plinth along W wall. Slate roof with stone copings (clad with lead), single bellcote at W gable surmounted by a cross finial; similar finial at E gable of nave and on porch. The N vestry has a large shouldered stack with pointed capping.

The entrance is within a slate roofed timber porch on stone plinths, the inner doorway has a shallow elliptical head of rough stone voussoirs and the boarded door has ornate hinges. Above the doorway there is a slate slab, possibly reset from an older building on the site, inscribed with this englyn: Anneddfawr Gardarn noddfa - Gôr breiniol / Ger Bron Duwa''r Dyrfa / Er Dim na thyred yma / Y Dyn ond a Meddwl Da. Late C19 windows throughout, the E window has paired trefoil headed lights under a quatrefoil in a pointed arched frame, the W gable has a similarly detailed single window; other windows are single or paired trefoil lights. The N vestry has a doorway in the E wall and a leaded light in the W wall, both have stepped flat heads to arched openings.

Interior

The church has exposed roof timbers. The chancel has 3 roof bays with one scissor braced truss and one arch braced collared truss, cusped above the collar, both are on wallposts down to chamfered corbels; single purlins have cusped windbraces. The nave roof has 6 roof bays with pegged and chamfered braced collared trusses and paired purlins, the 2 bays closest to the chancel with windbraces. The walls have been stripped of render and the chancel arch is a flat pointed arch formed with slabs of local stone; pointed headed recesses in the E and N walls of the chancel formerly housing water stoups and aumbreys.

The late C19 E window bears a depiction of the Crucifixion, the Laying in the tomb, the Resurrection and the Ascension and is a memorial to Berkley Smith; the S chancel wall has a window bearing the image of St Michael to Samuel Pope d1901 and the S wall to Anne Pope which depicts The Good Shepherd and Job holding a child. The W window depicts Christ with St Peter to Charles Ansell d1881 and his wife Louisa d1885.

The S wall of the chancel bears a number of bronze memorial tablets to members of the Poole family, dating from 1594 to 1783 and the S wall of the nave has a slate tablet to Anthony Pool of Newton, Montgomery, 2nd son of Reverend Anthony Poole of Cae Nest d1791; other memorials in the church are of late C19 and early C20.

The fittings are also late C19 and early C20 and there is an octagonal sandstone font at the W end of the nave.

Reason for designation

Listed at II* as a rural parish church of preominantly C15 or C16 retaining significant early fabric including fine Medieval roof timbers.