Church of St Llwchaiarn

Church of St Llwchaiarn

This church is predominantly in Decorated style with some Early English elements. It comprises a west tower, nave and chancel undivided, south porch, and north vestry. The walls are constructed in random masonry with yellow sandstone dressings, except for the east window which is of dressed red sandstone. The roofs are slate with red ridge tiles. The church is embellished by angle and diagonal buttresses, often with gablets, and large fleur-de-lis style finials.

The tower is distinctive and tall, with two stages divided by a moulded string course with foliate decoration to the angles. It has a saddle back roof with raised sandstone copings to the verges and gableted corbels. Machiolations sit beneath the sandstone eaves. The first stage contains narrow flat-headed openings, and a sandstone block on the south side is inscribed with the date 1839. The north side has a plain planked door under a four-centred arch with a sandstone lintel, approached by sandstone steps bound on the east side by a low wall separated from the west wall of the church. The top stage contains louvre openings on all four sides. Those to the north and south contain two cusped lights in plate tracery with moulded reveals. Those to the east and west comprise two trefoiled lancets with central colonnette and a circular opening above, all recessed within a moulded opening under a hoodmould with foliate end bosses. Narrow openings appear in the gables to the roof.

The porch is located on the south side of the nave towards its west end and features a very ornate entrance. The trefoil-headed opening contains two orders of mouldings under a crocketed hoodmould; the outer moulding has zigzag decoration while the inner has dogtooth-style decoration. Vertical lines of saltire crosses sit beneath the end bosses of the hoodmould. Above the entrance is a large foliate boss and an inscribed date reading AD 1840. The porch has wide sandstone eaves and the front face is sandstone dressed, with raised verges surmounted by a finial to the apex and two finials just above the eaves with pyramidal copings and dogtooth decoration.

The south side of the nave and chancel has two buttresses and four windows: plain single lancets to the west of the porch and between the buttresses, and a plain two-lancet window to the chancel. To the east of the porch is a more ornate window within a gabled semi-dormer, consisting of two trefoiled lancets with crocketed hoodmould and an inscription reading AD 1843. An oval light sits above with a finial on the gable apex.

High diagonal buttresses with offsets and gablets surmounted by fleur-de-lis finials sit at the southeast and northeast angles of the chancel. At the east end of the church is a low brick extension approximately 0.5 metres high, with sandstone coping and a top surface of masonry slabs, which may enclose a burial. The east window contains two trefoiled lancets and a small trefoiled light above, under a plain raked hoodmould.

The north side of the nave has two buttresses and two windows similar to the east window. The vestry is constructed at right angles to the north side of the chancel and has a large external gable stack. The shaft comprises four large octagonal blocks with vertical roll mouldings, between which is dogtooth decoration. Horizontal mouldings appear at the base, top, and in the middle of the shaft. The east side of the vestry contains a planked door and a window containing two lancets. To the west of the vestry there is a trefoiled light to the chancel.

Interior

The church is a single chamber with unplastered walls. The roof dates to the 15th century and comprises shallow arched braces which are very close together, obscuring the remaining roof timbers. The 19th century pews have fleur-de-lis decorated bench ends. A light timber rood screen with lancet-style arches is present, except for the central aisle opening which has a hammer-beam style arched head and is said to include elements of the 15th century screen. Steps rise up to the chancel, which has a mosaic floor with fleur-de-lis and geometric designs. The font dates to the 19th or 20th century and comprises a round bowl on four columns with mouldings, supported by an octagonal plinth and base. A fragment of the 13th century font survives, which had rounded handles and a bowl with recessed circles. The windows have wide splayed jambs. The nave windows contain stained glass with square panes in yellow, green and blue with pink margin glazing. The east window contains stained glass by Ballantine and Gardiner of Edinburgh, dedicated to the mother of Charles Whitley Owen of Fronfraith and dated 1892. It depicts Christ ascending to heaven with the inscriptions "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" and "He was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God". On the south side of the chancel is a marble memorial to John Lloyd, died 1829 aged 57 years, whose remains are said to be in a vault underneath the east end of the church. The memorial is also dedicated to his wife and children, said to be buried under the monument. There is a memorial to Jack Miller, died 1915, a churchwarden.