St Peter's Church, Pentre

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Coordinates: 51°39′18″N 3°29′28″W / 51.654944544531°N 3.4910369145175°W / 51.654944544531; -3.4910369145175
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

St Peter's Church
"Cathedral of the Rhondda"
Style
Early English
Years built1887–1890
Construction cost£20,000 (equivalent to £2,809,000 in 2023)[2]
Specifications
MaterialsPennant Sandstone and Welsh slate
Administration
ParishYstradyfodwg[3]

St Peter's Church is an

A4058). It was built in the Early English style in 1887–1890 to the designs of Kempson and Fowler[Note 1] and was designated as a Grade II* listed building in 1991.[1]

History

The church, known as the 'Cathedral of the Rhondda' due to its size, was commissioned by the Llewellyns of Baglan. Griffith Llewellyn was a co-founder of the Rhondda Engine Works and Madelina (

magnum opus.[11] The church was built 1887–1890 and consecrated on 28 July 1890 by the Bishop of Llandaff.[5] It was Grade II* listed in 1991.[1]

Architecture

Exterior

The church is built of coursed rock-faced masonry with a Welsh slate roof. The dressings are of banded pink and buff stone matching the

bellcote over the west end of the chancel.[1]

The church is set within a sloping churchyard with a flight of stone steps leading to the south-west gable.[12] The churchyard is surrounded by a stone wall with iron railings.[1] At the southern corner of the churchyard, outside of the walls, is a Grade II listed fountain which is intricately carved in a Celtic style. A sketch of the church from c. 1890 shows the vacant space into which the fountain would be placed.[15][Note 2]

Interior

Contrasting Pennant Sandstone and brick have been used to create a pink and buff-coloured banded polychromy that is the predominant feature of the interior and is described by Newman as "relentless".[12][17] The stained glass includes the east window by F. W. Dixon which is the most flamboyant element of the church.[6]

The fittings within the church make use of a variety of different coloured marble. The stone pulpit (featuring scenes from life of St Peter) has colonnettes of red marble, whereas the font consists of a pink marble cylinder on grey colonnettes. The wall-to-wall reredos is of pink-veined marble with white figures under canopies[1][6][12] in a style made popular in the 1860s by George Gilbert Scott.[18]

The organ was built by Henry Willis & Sons in 1890 and restored by Hill, Norman & Beard in 1998.[19]

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography notes that the flag captured at the Battle of Toski (1889) by Francis Grenfell (brother of Madelina) is in the church.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Sources disagree over the architect(s) of the church: The Cadw listing names F. R. Kempson and J. B. [John Bacon] Fowler,[1] the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada gives Kempson and Charles Busteed Fowler,[4] Kelly's Directory and John Newman name only Kempson in their descriptions of the church,[5][6] but elsewhere Newman associates C. B. Fowler with the partnership of Kempson & Fowler.[7] John Betjeman credits the design to John Prichard (d. 1886) with Kempson and Fowler completing the work after his death.[8] Prichard was the cousin of Griffith Llewellyn[9]
  2. ^ Cadw is most likely referring to the same image as that printed in the Architectural Record, note that it gives the architects as Kempson & Fowler.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cadw & 13126.
  2. ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  3. ^ "St Peter, Pentre". Church in Wales. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Fowler, Charles Busteed". Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Kelly 1895, p. 633.
  6. ^ a b c d Newman 1995, p. 510.
  7. ^ Newman 1995, p. 691.
  8. ^ Betjeman 1993, p. 696.
  9. ^ Newman 1995, p. 142.
  10. ^ a b Chamberlain 2001.
  11. ^ Newman 1995, pp. 95, 99.
  12. ^ a b c d RCAHMW & 13886.
  13. ^ "Peal of the Rhondda". Wales Online. 17 August 2006. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  14. ^ Dove's Guide & ID 13957.
  15. ^ Cadw & 18104.
  16. ^ Architectural Record 1892, p. 406.
  17. ^ Newman 1995, pp. 95, 510.
  18. ^ Newman 1995, p. 97.
  19. National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies
    . Retrieved 13 October 2021.

Bibliography

Online databases

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