Parish Church of St. Ellyw

Parish Church of St. Ellyw

This is an early Perpendicular Gothic church of around 1400, built in rock-faced snecked rubble stone with red sandstone dressings, green slate roofs, terracotta ridge tiles, and stone coped gables.

The Tower

The tower is plain battered rubble stone. Most of its features were renewed in red sandstone in 1905-06, when the parapet was also rebuilt. It has a corbelled embattled parapet, small two-light louvred bell-openings with flat hoodmould, and a clock face on the south side at mid-height. The west front dates from 1905. A three-light flat-headed window with ogee tracery and hoodmould sits above the pointed west doorway, which has flanking statue niches with fine carved detail. The north side features an embattled square stair tower.

The Main Building

The nave comprises three windows of pointed traceried three-light design with hoodmoulds and buttresses between them. Over the crossing is an ornate panelled stone turret, embattled with a short recessed spire. The transepts have large four-light end windows, angle buttresses, and shouldered gables, with two-light west-facing windows. The chancel has a large five-light east window and angle buttresses. On its south side is a lean-to vestry with an east door. A gabled north-east chapel features three-light east windows and two two-light north windows. An octagonal chimney stack rises between the chapel and chancel roofs. The south porch has a finely carved pointed doorway with hoodmould and statue niche above, reached by six steps with a ramped low stone wall on each side.

Interior

The interior is faced in rock-faced grey stone with Bath stone dressings and timber roofs. Window rear arches are carried down to ground level. The crossing has moulded arches carried on short corbelled wall-shafts, while the larger chancel arch is fully shafted. The nave and transepts have ribbed wagon roofs. A timber vault over the crossing is decorated with five carved bosses and carved angel angle corbels. The chancel has a panelled wagon roof, more elaborate over the sanctuary with carved bosses. The chancel floor features fine black and white marble paving, with two steps up to the chancel and five to the sanctuary. Tall arches with hoodmoulds flank the east end, where the window tracery is set back in a large shafted pointed arch. The lower part of this opening is filled by an extremely elaborate carved stone reredos of the Last Supper in a richly traceried frame. The south wall contains a traceried piscina and two-seat sedilia.

Fittings and Monuments

The church contains exceptional fittings and monuments. A medieval plain octagonal font on a diagonally set square shaft has cusped junctions between the square and octagon and half-round faces to the square base. Timber screens enclose the tower arch and north-east chapel. There is a timber pulpit and eagle lectern.

Two outstanding stained glass windows are to designs by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, made by Morris and Company: a five-light east window of 1911 and four-light south windows of around 1911.

The church has a notable series of wall monuments spanning from the late 17th to mid-18th century, characterised by Baroque to Palladian columned and pedimented surrounds. These include Baroque monuments to Walter Vaughan (died 1683) and Mary Vaughan (died 1703) in the nave, and an early monument with carved skull to H. Jones (died 1699) in the north-east chapel. The 18th-century series includes monuments in the nave to John Vaughan Stepney (died 1732) and Eleanor Stepney (died 1733) signed by William Palmer (1673-1739), and in the north-east chapel to Lady Margaret Stepney (died 1733), also by Palmer. A fine classical monument to Sir Thomas Stepney (died 1751) in the north transept is signed by Palmer, probably Benjamin Palmer. The 19th-century monuments include an unusual neo-Grec monument with relief urns to Mary Stepney (died 1816) at the west end; monuments in the north transept to E. Mansel (died 1809) signed by Tyley of Bristol and to Emma Chambers (died 1838) by Orton Rossi (1812-1851); and a fine low relief bronze to Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Cowell (died 1854) by Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-1867), a copy of the marble original in St. Paul's Cathedral. Well-lettered plaques of 1907 and 1908 commemorate the Bythway family. Two 18th-century style monuments in the nave, matching the Stepney series, commemorate Sir Stafford Howard (died 1916) and Margaret Cowell Stepney (died 1921).

Over the tower arch is a painted canvas bearing Hanoverian royal arms.