St David Lutheran Church

Cadw's description

Location

On Fairwater Green in the centre of the Community.

History

The church was designed by Vernon Kinch of Alex Gordon and Partners, and opened in August 1961. There was a Lutheran community in central Cardiff in the C19, but the one in western Cardiff dates only from the mid C20, associated with new housing development in Fairwater. The building is influenced by the Liturgical Movement, applying the clarity of modernism to the expression of ritual function. It is distinguished by a clearly articulated plan, the honest expression of structure and materials, and the subtle ordering of light. The building has been re-windowed with plastic units, and there have been some minor changes to joinery, but it is otherwise unaltered.

Exterior

Brown brick with a shutter cast concrete frame and roof structure. Elegantly understated design. West entrance with north church hall and offices, these have a higher floor level but a lower roof-line. The west elevation has a blind wall flanked by strip windows, low pitch gable with gull-wing roof in concrete. The south wall is blind; the chancel is both higher and wider than the nave with windows in the returns and across the roof. The east wall is blind but is canted.The north wall is covered by the single storey hall and offices which have their own large windows. All windows have been replaced by plastic framed ones with some alteration of appearance to the hall.

Interior

Painted brick walls, unpainted concrete frame and ceiling. The most dramatic effect is the concealed natural lighting at the east end, comparable to the top-lit interior of the Coychurch Crematorium. Up steps and through wooden screens to the hall on the north side. Polished concrete flag floor. Shuttered concrete font, lectern and altar. Fixed wooden pews with side aisles only. Only the coloured glazing is a significant alteration.

Reason for designation

Included as an exceptional church design characteristic of the post-war period in its fusion of Liturgical Movement thinking with modernist architectural ideas; a disciplined yet expressive composition.