Church of St Ismael

Church of St Ismael

Parish church built in rubble stone with slate roofs. The building comprises a nave with western bellcote, a large north porch, a north transept, and a low chancel. The nave, transept, and porch are finished with ashlar 19th-century shouldered gable copings. At the west end is a central projection with a battered base and cambered-headed plain opening, with two 19th-century set-offs in the upper part beneath a grey stone 19th-century gabled bellcote with ashlar copings and a cross finial. One triangular-headed bell-opening is visible.

The north side of the nave is windowless and features a large rubble porch with a broad arched opening with rough stone long voussoirs, of uncertain date but possibly post-medieval. The porch gable was substantially rebuilt in the 19th century. Within the porch is a narrow round-arched door with rough stone voussoirs, possibly dating from the 12th to 13th century, and stone benches. Corbels stand on each side.

The north transept contains a small 15th-century two-light pointed north window with hoodmould and uncusped panel tracery. Relieving arch stones appear in the wall above. The east side has an inserted ashlar ovolo-moulded two-light mullion window with arched heads to the lights, of 17th-century type but possibly a 19th-century copy, and possibly reused.

The south side of the nave has three plain windows inserted in 1859, executed in ashlar with stone voussoirs—one single lancet and two two-light windows with a roundel over—perhaps inserted into earlier pointed openings with rough stone voussoirs. The middle window occupies a former door opening. A large 19th-century two-step low buttress stands at the southeast corner.

The plain chancel has been largely rebuilt on its south and east sides. It is windowless to the south, with a very plain red brick stepped triple lancet at the east end. The north side retains old masonry with a rubble stone lean-to squint passage with plain slate roof in the angle to the transept.

Interior

The walls are plastered and whitewashed. The roof dates to the 19th century and comprises six arch-braced collar trusses with raking struts above the collars and boarding in the roof. 19th-century coloured tile floors are laid throughout. The west window has a cambered head with an arched reveal to the arched north door. A round arch to the north transept has four corbels around it—two above, one low on the left, and one high on the right.

The transept contains a very small square recess in the west wall and another square recess in the northeast angle. Two corbels set closely one above the other appear in the east wall, with another on the south wall to the left of the arch. The 15th-century north window sits in a tall cambered-headed reveal, perhaps answering to voussoirs on the outside wall. A 19th-century ashlar cambered head finishes the east side window. A very wide cambered-headed opening in the corner leads into the squint passage through to the chancel. The squint has a plastered roof, probably a cambered stone vault.

The chancel arch is plastered and round-arched, rebuilt in 1890, flanked by two 1890 rectangular openings with grey stone chamfered lintels and sills. A small medieval niche or recess sits high in the gable to the right of centre. The chancel roof, dating to 1890, comprises three scissor trusses on corbels. A broad segmental arch on the north leads to the squint passage, with one corbel over. A tall narrow 19th-century pointed-arched recess in the south wall stands against the chancel arch, possibly an alteration of a medieval feature.

Fittings

The font is a 12th to 13th-century cushion-type bowl with incised lines defining a lunette on each side, retooled in the 19th century. It has a square shaft chamfered at the angles and a stepped chamfered base. A plain painted grained pine pulpit with diagonally boarded panels on a wine-glass stem dates to around 1860. Late 19th-century altar rails feature cast-iron standards, twisted below with scrolls above. Pitch pine pews date to 1890 and have a quatrefoil panel in the bench ends. Late 19th-century pitch pine chancel stalls are also present. A 20th-century plain timber-panelled altar and reredos complete the fittings.

Memorials and Glass

A marble plaque to Reverend S Brigstocke (died 1875) is by T Jones. A brass plaque commemorates W Davies JP (died 1908). A marble plaque to Reverend M L Jones (died 1898) is by J Havard. The east three-light window depicts the Risen Christ and dates to 1962, made by Celtic Studios. The west window contains a dove roundel dating to 1991.