Church of St David/Eglwys Dewi Sant

Church of St David (Eglwys Dewi Sant)

An Anglican parish church of rubble stone with slate roofs, comprising a south tower almost detached from the chancel, a nave and aisles, and a south porch.

The tower, constructed of purple and grey sandstone, is relatively plain and rises in two stages with diagonal angle buttresses, stepped three-part string courses, and a corbelled parapet with stepped battlements and string course between levels. It features a Tudor-arched south door with hoodmould and moulded spandrels, and double ledged doors. Above this is a hoodmoulded lancet window. The second stage has a blank ashlar hoodmoulded clock face and a louvred lancet bell-opening with a clock. The purple and grey sandstone appears to be from the original church built in 1835-7; similar stone survives in the base of walls elsewhere. The large three-stage centre buttresses to the east and west may be remnants of the transept south wall demolished in 1938, though it is unclear whether the diagonal northeast and northwest buttresses were added at that time. The 1938 link to the main church features two plain lancets to the east and connects to the chancel south aisle, which has a pair of similar lights.

The chancel, constructed in later local brownish sandstone with Bath stone dressings and Doulting stone, contains south and north traceried two-light windows of 1885, a triple-layered plinth, and a large east five-light window with roundels, also of 1885. It has gabled buttresses. The north chancel aisle, occupying the site of the former north transept, has a plain east lancet, a plain door, and two lancets to the north.

The nave and aisles, built in 1853-5, have steep roofs and coped gables. The broad and tall nave is of five bays. Its west end features an exceptionally large four-light Decorated Gothic window with a rose over two two-lights, flanked by buttresses. The lean-to aisles have a two-light west window to the north aisle and a single light to the south aisle. The nave is clerestoried with alternating two-light and large round traceried windows. The north aisle has five buttresses and four three-light windows with traceried and alternating details, their hoods featuring carved head stops. The south aisle has paired lancets to the left, then the porch, and three three-light windows with buttresses. The porch has double ledged doors in a moulded pointed arch with hoodmould and corner buttresses, with traceried paired square side lights. A stone boundary wall surrounds the church.

The interior has a broad and tall nave with five-bay arcades of painted Bath stone featuring pointed arches and alternating round and octagonal piers, with hoodmoulds and head stops. The nave roof comprises thin arch braces to tie-beam trusses on corbels, with boarding of 1913 concealing plaster panels embossed with fleurs de lys. The lean-to aisle roofs are also corbelled. The chancel arch, of 1886, stands on triple granite colonettes on corbels and has a two-bay arcade on each side. The three-bay chancel roof is corbelled.

An ashlar carved font on polished marble columns dates to 1886, surrounded by a screen of 1913 by Collier. An ornate stone pulpit with openwork front, also of 1886, stands nearby. Canopied timber stalls line the west wall, built in 1913 by Collier. Choir stalls of the 1860s, moved from Christ Church, are positioned in the chancel. Nineteenth-century pine pews, presumably from the 1850s, have timber rails with Gothic trefoil piercings and iron inserts, also presumably of the 1850s and attributed to Penson. A carved stone reredos of 1915 by H. F. Davies of Carmarthen features three quatrefoils with figures of the Evangelists above in marble surrounds, added by a Belgian refugee, M. Clobert.

The stained glass includes an east window of 1961 depicting Christ in Glory by C. R. Blakeman of London, and a south aisle fourth window of 1988 by Celtic Studios.

Memorial plaques commemorate G. Vigor (died 1847) by Tyley, the Reverend D. Williams (died 1858) with pediment, and J. Hancocke (died 1858) by Edwards & Co.