St. Elidyr's Church

St. Elidyr's Church

St. Elidyr's is a Grade I listed church built on a site partly excavated into a steeply south-facing slope. The building consists of a chancel approximately 6.5 metres long by 4.5 metres wide, a nave approximately 17 metres long by 6 metres wide, north and south transepts, a lean-to vestry to the north of the chancel, a chapel known as the Lort Chapel to the south of the chancel, and an open south porch. At the extremity of the north transept stands the tower, positioned to take advantage of the higher ground.

The tower is of typical local form with a parapet carried on corbels and a stairs-turret at its northwest corner. It lacks the usual crenellations and is of unusually slender proportions. The ground storey has a pointed vault open to the north transept. There are two upper floors and a roof, all in crudely constructed vaulting on squinches. The ground, first and second storeys have windows or louvred openings facing north, with the first storey opening now blocked. The top storey has louvred belfry openings on all four sides in lancet form. A small first floor louvred opening faces east, with slit lights serving the spiral stairs. The entire tower is in limestone masonry in large courses.

The nave and porch were rebuilt and most of the remainder of the church refaced by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1851 at the expense of the first Earl Cawdor, marking the first of six churches on the Stackpole estate to be restored. The new exterior masonry is in snecked sandstone from the Cambrian period, imported from the St. David's area, with dressings in Carboniferous sandstone. A remnant of the older sandstone exterior masonry in Old Red Sandstone, quarried locally, is still visible at the west side of the north transept. Rafters are exposed at verges and sprocketed at eaves. Slate roofing throughout is in diminishing courses with tile ridges. A small wrought-iron finial cross adorns the east end. Main windows have been restored in Decorated style.

The porch rebuilt by Scott features a large open two-order exterior arch facing south with the inner order carried on corbels with rounded and moulded caps. The doorway to the nave has an equilateral arch with a dripstone terminating in male and female heads.

A crypt beneath the chancel is now filled in, though its external access is marked by slabs with lifting rings at the northeast corner of the chancel.

The north and south transepts have mediaeval pointed vaults of the local type. The vault of the south transept opens directly to the nave, whilst that of the north transept is at a higher level and is behind a nave wall arch. Timber roofs from the 19th century restoration are present in the nave and chancel, with a soffit form echoing the traditional local vault shape. In the Lort Chapel is a vault on crudely formed ribs, with its ridge running unexpectedly in the north-south direction. A wide and high two-order chancel arch replaces a low and narrow one. At the east end of the south wall of the nave is a high window related to the rood position, indicated by a surviving corbel. Very large squints connect each transept with the chancel.

The chancel has Minton tile paving and a reredos. The floor displays the arms of Lord Cawdor impaling Thynne. An oak altar table and oak communion rails of light and open design complete the furnishings.

The church contains numerous important monuments. A 5th to 6th century inscribed pillar is laid flat beneath the east window of the Lort Chapel. Two 14th century female effigies are on the floor of the Lort Chapel, with a male and a female effigy positioned one each side of the chancel. A Jacobean monument to Roger Lort, died 1613, and his wife Abertha features Ionic columns and entablature with obelisk finials and a crest displaying their arms, each figure within an arched frame with guilloched pilasters. An Italian Baroque marble monument honours Hester Lort, died 1647, and Sir John Lort, died 1672. Many Cawdor monuments and hatchments are also present. The stained glass window of the south transept, created by O'Connor in 1862, depicts John Frederick, first Earl Cawdor, as King Solomon supervising the building of the Temple, as a compliment for his restoration work.