Former Christchurch (now Yr Hwylfan)

Former Christchurch (now Yr Hwylfan)

A geometrical-style church comprising a 6-bay aisled nave, south transeptal tower with spire, and lower chancel, with a vestry to the north side. The walls are constructed of grey rubble stone with Bath stone dressings, and the slate roof sits behind coped gables on moulded kneelers.

The buttressed south aisle features stepped 3-light windows, except for a 2-light window in the left-hand bay and a porch in the bay left of centre with sill band. The windows have notional small blind plate-tracery lights. The aisle has an eaves cornice incorporating a dog-tooth frieze. The gabled porch has a coped verge with gablets to the eaves above angle buttresses. The doorway has a 2-centred arch with continuous filleted roll moulding, replaced double boarded doors and hood mould. The side walls contain single small cusped lights. The nave clerestorey has 2 cusped lights per bay, except for a single light to the west end bay, with hood moulds and a cornice with dog-tooth decoration similar to the aisle.

The south tower is 4 stages, with angle buttresses that are gabled at the base of the upper stage and narrower above. A 3-stage polygonal stair turret is positioned at the southwest angle. Openings have hood moulds with head stops. The lower stage contains a doorway in the south face within a gabled projection offset to the left side, with a replaced boarded door. In the east face is a stepped 3-light window. The second stage has 2-light south and east windows. The third stage features an offset and 4-bay blind arcades to each face under cusped arches. A pair of tall 2-light belfry openings in each face have slate louvres. A corbel table above the belfry windows displays alternate grotesque heads and foliage panels. The octagonal stone broach spire has a single tier of lucarnes in alternate faces, comprising shafts with foliage caps under crocketed hoods. A simple band sits above the lucarnes while beneath the apex the spire is crocketed. The apex is topped with an iron Celtic cross.

The chancel has angle buttresses and a moulded cornice, with windows featuring hood moulds and head stops. The south and north walls each contain a pair of cusped lights under glazed trefoils, with linked hood mould. The east window is 5-light with sill band. The vestry on the north side of the chancel has a 3-light east window and boarded-up cusped north windows. The north side of the nave and north aisle are similar to the south side. The north aisle features stepped 3-light windows, except the west end bay which is 2-light, and the east end bay which has a 2-light window and a doorway to the left under a gabled hood breaking the eaves line, with a replaced boarded door.

The west front has angle buttresses to the nave with openings featuring hoods and head stops. The high-set 4-light west window has a shafted surround and stepped sill band over a west doorway. The doorway has a single order of nook shafts and double boarded doors with decorative strap hinges. The 3-light aisle west windows have a sill band.

The interior has been converted with the insertion of temporary partitions, but the principal architectural features of the original church remain visible. The nave contains 5-bay arcades with round piers and 2-centred arches. The spandrels have blind trefoil roundels. The sixth bay at the west end has a 2-centred doorway in its north wall leading to the north aisle. The nave has an arched-brace roof on corbelled shafts with a single tier of windbraces and a moulded cornice below the clerestorey. The chancel arch has triple attached shafts and moulded arch. The chancel features a 4-bay arched-brace roof with 2 tiers of windbraces on foliage corbels, with moulded cornice. On the south side is a former corbelled balcony, partly cut through to provide access to an inserted upper floor, which has a pointed doorway and cusped side lights. The chancel windows have shafted rere arches.

Some original furnishings and fittings have been retained. The 7-bay wrought iron chancel screen dates from 1928 and was made by the Brunswick Ironworks of Caernarfon, featuring scrollwork to the dado and the heads of the main lights. The ironwork continues on the south side where it forms railings to the pulpit steps. The polygonal stone pulpit has 2 tiers of blind Gothic panelling. Of the east window by Hartley dating from 1871, only the tracery lights survive. The north and south windows depict the 4 Evangelists, created in 1928-9.