Church of St. Garmon

Church of St. Garmon

A long church consisting of a nave with south porch, north vestry and west spire, without any exterior distinction to mark the chancel. The walling is in local shaley stone, generally irregular, but in some places, probably where restored by Douglas, brought to courses. The early masonry around the priest's door shows traces of limewash. The stone of the vestry, by Penson, is thought to be dolerite from Criggion. There are two corner buttresses at the east end and two buttresses away from the corners at the west end. The two doorways and all the restored windows are in sandstone. The roof is in bright red tiles, in striking contrast to the materials in local vernacular use. The spire is shingled, in two stages, with a weathervane and a narrow continuous belfry opening through which the timber framing is glimpsed.

The east wall retains three early Norman windows, the one above square-headed and the two below round-headed. The south door to the nave is round-headed, with a simple quarter-round moulding and many marks from knife or arrow sharpening. The priest's door is also round-headed, with a bold label mould. The remaining windows are of the 19th-century restorations: a small rose window with six round-headed lights at high level in the west wall, evidently by Penson, and a pair of round-headed windows and a round-headed door to the vestry, also by Penson. Five round-headed windows in the north side and two pairs and one triplet also round-headed in the south side, probably by Douglas.

The church is entered by the 17th-century south porch, a two-bay timber-framed addition of unusual robustness on stone plinth walls with arch-braced tie beams. Black and red quarry tile floor. Restored door to nave with wrought iron hinges.

The nave has low pews in two banks with tiled passages. The pews, by Douglas, have decoratively carved ends. The roof consists of six bays with arch-braced collar beam trusses, cusped V struts and windbracing; the timbers are ashlar-finished. The walls of the nave and the chancel were entirely stripped of plaster in the 19th-century restoration, and there is a slight internal batter. A late mediaeval octagonal font sits at the south-west corner of the nave, decorated with roses in quatrefoils. A fine Gothic-style oak font cover was donated in 1913 in memory of the Reverend D Jones, under whom the main restoration of the church had been carried out. At the west end is a gallery used as a bellringing and clock chamber, its front beam supported on posts, with boards including the Decalogue and a benefactions board of 1851. At the centre of the nave is a candelabrum of 1737. An inscribed pulpit of 1636 stands at the left with above it an inscribed sounding board, probably contemporary, hung from an iron bracket.

Two steps lead up to the chancel. It is marked by the rood screen, by Douglas, in late Gothic style with seven openings, tracery in the heads of the openings and a decorative crest; it also carries a small calvary cross at the centre. The chancel floor is laid with quarry and encaustic tiles. Choir stalls and prayer desk follow a style similar to the pews. The chancel celure, also by Douglas, is of barrel form in six facets with traceried panels and carved ribs. One step leads up to the sanctuary. A stone and timber reredos with Crucifixion beneath a canopy, dated 1890, was designed by Douglas and carved by Griffiths of Chester.

The Royal Arms of George IV are displayed in a frame on the south wall. The church contains a good collection of mural monuments, including a Baroque memorial to Humphrey Kynaston of Bryngwyn dated 1695; a draped marble to Thomas Evans of Llanbrogan dated 1826 by Carline, Shrewsbury; several military monuments and windows to members of the Bonnor Morris family. Stained glass is found throughout the church, including in the three Norman windows at the east: the top window shows Christ, at left King David, and at right St Germanus, bishop.