United Reformed Church (Christ Church) including forecourt walls, piers and gates

Cadw's description

Location

On site bounded by Arvon Avenue and Bod-Hyfryd Road.

History

Opened 1857 or 1858; transepts and a space at south end added 1863; designed by Joseph James of London; described in the edition of "The Builder" for 31 January 1863. Originally a Congregationalist church. The spire was lost in the early 1970s.

Exterior

Church in Gothic style with wide nave, transepts and hall below; tower at north-west end. Pitched slate roof with cresting. Stone walls with ashlar dressings. Main entrance elevation of church faces NW. This has a wide flight of steps leading up to the church door on the left hand and, on the right hand, to the tower entrance. Front wall of tower has trefoil headed doorway in ground floor, the door with elaborate hinges; narrow lancet window at first floor level, blind circular panel above this and, common to all elevations of the tower, a large, pointed belfry opening of two lights in uppermost storey which is surmounted by a gable with ball flower ornament (the former octagonal spire with cruciform finial has been removed). The tower has a two-storey, five-sided canted bay window built against its south-west wall. To the left of the tower, the main entrance elevation of the church has an ogee headed doorway at the top of the flight of steps, the door with elaborate hinges; above this, a rose window flanked to each side by a pointed window with cusping and trefoils. Each long wall of nave pierced by 5 cusped headed windows and each long wall of hall below by 5 square headed, two-light mullioned windows; a buttress with offset between each bay. There is a blank bay at northern end of north-east elevation. At S end of nave elevations, end wall of each transept has a short, wide, pointed Decorated window with dripstone in the gable; below, three single-light cusped windows to church and, at basement level, three tall square-headed single light windows. To south of each transeptal wing there is a narrow and lower gabled wing; in north-east elevation with single-light trefoil headed window above and flight of steps below leading up to doorway; in south-west elevation with two cusped windows above and two square-headed ones below.

Forecourt to church on north-east, north-west and south-west sides enclosed by dwarf walls of stone with ashlar coping (iron railings) and piers with coping; gate piers with gables before north-west elevation (iron gates).

Reason for designation

Church from early period of development of Llandudno, on key street intersection of planned resort. Group value with adjacent listed buildings.