Church of St Sadwrn

Church of St Sadwrn

A predominantly late 19th-century rural church comprising a continuous nave and chancel with a north chapel and north porch. The building is constructed of local rubble masonry with mainly sandstone dressings and large stones as quoins; the south wall is grit rendered. The roof is slate with stone copings on shaped kneelers, gable cross finials, and a dressed stone west bellcote for 2 bells. A tall stack rises over the westernmost window along the south wall.

The east window contains 3 trefoil-headed lights with cusped tracery in a chamfered pointed arched frame. The continuous nave and chancel comprises 4 unequal bays. The south wall features gabled bays over paired cinquefoil-headed lights in arched windows; the westernmost is more round-headed and has a tall square stack at its gable apex. Alternate bays contain pointed arched windows with trefoil-headed lights, including a paired light between the gabled bays and a single light to the east. The north wall has a similar paired light between the porch and chapel. The west gable displays a circular window of cusped tracery set in a pointed arched frame with a hoodmould featuring floriate bosses.

Entry to the church is through a pointed arched chamfered doorway in the west wall of the porch. The north wall of the porch contains a single trefoil-headed light in a pointed arched chamfered frame. The north chapel has paired trefoiled lights in a pointed arch frame in the east wall and paired cinquefoiled lights in a similar frame in the north wall. Below the north window is a blocked low arch, with shaped late 15th or 16th-century kneelers flanking the window: the one to the west depicts a muzzled bear, and the one to the east depicts a human head.

The roof has exposed arched braced collared trusses, with 5 roof bays in the nave and 3 in the chapel; some of the trusses are original. There is no chancel arch; the chancel is raised by a single step, and the sanctuary by a further step. The sanctuary roof is a highly ornate painted barrel wagon roof with recessed panels bearing the names and emblems of saints between moulded gilded dividers. Ornate floriate bosses mark the intersections. The facing panel is painted with floriate emblems and intertwined foliage.

The sanctuary rail is moulded and stands on twisted stanchions with floriate brackets. The east wall is panelled: the topmost tier features cusped tracery, the central tier displays linen fold decoration, and the lowest panel is plain. Behind the altar stands a highly ornate painted reredos. The central raised panel bears a depiction of Christ at the Crucifixion, while the flanking panels depict the 4 national saints: St David and St George to the left, and St Andrew and St Patrick to the right. Above the panels is an ornate frieze with a central crown and flanking heraldic emblems. The sanctuary floor is tiled with encaustic tiles.

Set into the north wall of the sanctuary is an early 6th-century stone bearing a mutilated inscription in debased Roman capitals: HIC BEAT* / SATVRNINVS SE / IACIT . ET SVA SA* / CONIVX . PA ....

Above this stone and to the left are late 19th-century memorial tablets. To the right is a memorial to Elizabeth, 2nd wife of Richard Wynne of Penheskin (died 1714): a draped mural tablet surmounted by a lozenge of arms and surrounded by flowers and trumpets, with a winged cherub below over a smaller tablet bearing another lozenge with the arms of Iarddur for Wynne of Penhesgyn.

On the opposite south wall of the chancel are late 19th-century memorials to members of the McCorquodale family of Gadlys. A highly ornate painted marble memorial to George McCorquodale (died 1895) bears a helm and shield of arms surmounted by a stag, set in a cusped frame with floriate decoration in the spandrels and bosses.

The north chapel contains numerous reset 18th and 19th-century memorials along its walls.

Along the west wall is a series of memorials within a pointed recess to the family at Trefor. To the left is a slate tablet to Thomas Prichard of Trefor (died 1743), Grace Hughes his mother (died 1727), his daughter Grace (died 1731), and his widow Perie Parry (died 1771). To the right, at the top, is a slate tablet to Richard Thomas, son and heir of Thomas Pritchard of Trefor (died 1775). Below this is a marble memorial to Hugh Thomas Esq of Trefor (died 1852); beneath that, a tablet to William Hugh Thomas (died 1896) and his wife Ann (died 1880); and below that, a slate tablet to Owen Thomas, 4th son of Thomas Prichard (died 1747), and Hugh, son of Hugh Thomas of Trefor (died 1779). To the right is a slate memorial to William Thomas, 2nd son of Thomas Prichard of Trefor (died 1759).

In the northwest corner of the chapel are early to mid-19th-century marble on slate memorials to the Owen family of Gadlys. To the right of the north window is an ornate marble memorial—a draped cartouche flanked by winged cherubim—to Owen Roberts of Caere (died 1710/11), Ellin Roberts of Castellior, his mother-in-law (died 1702), and Thomas Roberts her second husband (died 1709), with an additional tablet below and shield of arms above bearing Iarddur for Roberts of Caerau.

To the left of the east wall of the chapel is a corbelled memorial to Owen Lloyd, Chancellor of Bangor and Prebendary of Penmynydd (died 1742). Below is a late 19th-century tablet to Williams of Trefor, and below that, a wooden tablet to Ellen, wife of Thomas Roberts of Castellior (died 1702). To the right is a pointed recess containing early to late 19th-century memorials to the Williams family of Treffos. Further to the right are 2 small mid-18th-century bronze bequest tablets set high in the wall.

The fittings are predominantly late 19th-century. An intricately carved reading desk has a seat bearing a carving of a figure wrestling with 2 dragons, with arm rests surmounted by slumped figures resting their heads on their hands.

The font is of Penmon limestone, with an octagonal tapered bowl and conical-shaped stem with moulded base; it is dated 1737.

The east window shows Christ and the apostles. In the north wall of the nave, to the east of the doorway, is a window depicting St Alban and St Aaron, dedicated to Hugh Stewart McCorquodale, killed in action at Spion Kop in 1900. The south wall contains 4 windows which, from west to east, depict and are dedicated to: Christ healing the sick (George McCorquodale, died 1895); Angels holding aloft banners (Catherine Martha, daughter of John Roberts AM Rector and wife, died 1851); St Luc and St John (Elizabeth Jane Winter, wife of John Williams of Treffos, died 1856); and at the far east end, a window by Jones and Willis of St Sadwrn (TNW, died 1901). The north wall of the north chapel has a window of St Matthew and St Mark dedicated to Owen Owens (died 1847), and the east wall has another window with angels carrying banners dedicated to Mary Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Noris Williams of Treffos (died 1830).