St.Collen's Parish Church

St Collen's Parish Church

A Grade I listed building, this is a triple-naved church with a central west tower, chancel, and northwest vestry. The structure demonstrates a mix of medieval and Victorian construction. The medieval north aisle is built in rubble; the tower is coursed rubble with quoins; and the Victorian work is snecked rubble. Freestone dressings throughout include finials, gable parapets, stepped buttresses, and plinth, with slate roofs.

The tower is four stages, tapering inwards with band courses marking each step, and is topped with a parapet bearing urn finials. The bell stage has round arched louvred openings with Gibbsian surrounds and bracket cills. A lean-to Victorian west porch features a two-order arched entrance with nook shafts. Clock faces appear on the north and south sides, with a pediment and bracket cill evidence on the north. A two-light window sits at the base of the south side, while a round arched doorway at the tower base leads to a recessed boarded and studded door.

The aisle gable ends have two-light windows. The northwest vestry, added in 1876 in early English style, contains a chimney stack inscribed with the initials W G, belonging to the patron William Griffiths. The north side displays two-light Perpendicular windows flanking more elaborate three-light windows. The chancel has a two-light window with curved-sided triangular head and a Caernarvon arched doorway. The south side features a two-order arch porch in the west bay, with the gable flanked by punched cusped trefoils. Victorian late Decorated three-light windows light the south side. A two-light window serves the organ chamber extension, and a five-light Perpendicular window lights the chancel's east end.

The churchyard contains a substantial collection of 18th and 19th century monuments, including an unusual octagonal pedestal type crowned with an urn.

Interior

The interior features a four-bay Perpendicular arcade on the north and a three-bay arcade on the south, both with polygonal piers and two-order arches. Low, narrow respond arches occupy the east end.

The most significant feature is a splendid six-bay hammerbeam roof with extensive carved timber ornament. Tradition suggests it was transferred from Valle Crucis Abbey, though this lacks firm evidence; however, the roof appears to reuse timbers and the trusses do not correspond with the arcade bays. The roof has triple purlins and broad reeded rafters with richly carved bosses. Principals positioned midway between each heavily pegged truss are moulded to suggest colonnettes with figurehead capitals. The western four bays have cusping below the ridge and punched mouchettes spandrels to hammerbeams, whose ends carry long springer brackets. Intermediate principals are carved with animals. A panelled linefold band runs along the wall head throughout. The eastern two bays are elaborately ceiled at collar level with vertical and horizontal quatrefoil banding and diamond-shaped patterns, representing the medieval church's chancel. Three stone corbels sit on the north side below the fourth truss from the east. A half-glazed screen sits at the tower arch. A triple-shafted medieval south door, retaining eroded capitals, is preserved inside the present building alongside modern doors.

The north aisle has a six-bay hammerbeam roof of lesser detail, with strapwork ornamented wall head panelling on the north wall and foliage and fish trail decoration on a panel of the arcade wall. An early 14th century tomb recess features fleuron detail and a quatrefoil panelled pinnacle. The Victorian south aisle has a hammerbeam roof screened from the porch at its west end.

An iron chancel screen dates to 1902. The two-bay chancel has an arcade to the north, with the east bay filled in. A 24-panel ceiling covers the space, with two windows above the organ chamber.

Furnishings and Monuments

Notable furnishings include finely carved sedilia and piscina, a crucifixion by Earp, an octagonal ballflower pulpit, and a circular font with four marble piers dated 1869. Two stained glass windows by A Gibbs light the south aisle. A monument by Violet Labouchere to Sarah Ponsonby and Lady Eleanor Butler in the south aisle was commissioned by the feminist Dr Mary Gordon in 1937, using herself and the artist as models. An unusual polished marble monument to Susannah Price (1796) by J Turner of Chester and a monument to Edward Wynne (died 1777) with Ionic pilasters are also present. Two hatchments occupy the northwest end, one bearing Hanoverian arms.