Church of St David

The Church of St David is a parish church constructed in a simple Early English style. It dates to an unknown period and is built of rock-faced, squared Preseli stone blocks, interspersed with occasional grey limestone blocks, with grey stone quoins. Yellow Ham Hill stone dressings are used, and the roof is covered with small, rough slate tiles. The church comprises a nave with a western bellcote, a south transept, and a chancel with a lean-to south choir recess, with each element carefully articulated.

The west end features a narrow centre projection leading to the bellcote, with a string course under a lancet window with a hoodmould. The bellcote has grey stone sides, two plain pointed bell openings, and a coped gable. The north side of the nave has a pointed doorway to the right, featuring a broad roll mould and column bases without capitals, with a board door and wrought iron hinges. Two pairs of lancet windows are present to the left, with a stepped buttress at the northeast angle. The north side of the chancel has one lancet window to the right, and the east end has a three-light plate-traceried window with pointed lights, a roll-moulded head with a trefoil in the centre light, and cusped quatrefoils over the side lights, all bordered by a hoodmould and stone voussoirs. The chancel’s lean-to section to the south has a small, square-headed two-light window. The south transept has a plate-traceried two-light window with a quatrefoil in the head and stone voussoirs. The south side of the nave has a single lancet window.

Inside, the walls are of exposed, rough-dressed squared stone with bath stone dressings to cambered-headed window reveals, and the floors are red tiled. The open rafter roofs are designed to create a polygonal profile; the nave roof is seven-sided, with straight braces to the collars and angled struts from the wallplate. A broad segmental pointed arch leads into the south transept. The transept has a rafter roof with collars and a segmental pointed arch in the east wall that connects it to the chancel's lean-to, with canted jambs designed to provide a line of sight, resembling a medieval squint. A pointed chancel arch has raised imposts. The chancel has a polychrome encaustic tile floor, a four-sided roof with scissor-rafters and straight braces, and a long timber lintel on corbels over the south lean-to. A recess in the southeast corner contains a seat and piscina under a pointed arch, said to be a restored medieval feature. The east window reveal has a segmental-pointed head. The reredos is constructed of ashlar with an openwork Gothic head above five glazed encaustic tile panels, the central panel featuring a marble cross.

The church contains a tiny, square medieval font with two lunettes incised on each face, tapering to a round shaft on a square base which may be a single piece. It sits on a 19th-century plinth. Other fittings include a simple pine pulpit with trefoil panels, pine pews, chancel stalls, an oak lectern, an oak altar table with a marble top (both dating to 1909), and plain chamfered altar rails. The original altar table remains in the south lean-to. Stained glass depictions of the Risen Christ and two angels are in the east window, while the west lancet window shows St David, both created by Heaton, Butler & Bayne in 1909. Attractive leading is visible in the original windows, featuring small square panes and margin glazing.