Church of St Cennych (aka St Gwynog)

Church of St Cennych, also known as St Gwynog

This is a tall nave church with a west tower and a lower north aisle. The aisle is separately roofed but extends for the same length as the nave. Both the nave and aisle were extended eastwards at the same width and height to form the vestry with organ chamber and the chancel. The masonry throughout is of local stone, rock-faced and laid in small regular courses with chiselled square arrises. On all sides except the south of the nave there is a plinth of similar masonry with an offset course in Bath stone. Corner buttresses of slight projection serve the nave, chancel and tower, each with plain offsets and sloping tops. The slate roofs have red tile ridges and a very slight coping with small cross-finials at the gables. An octagonal chimney rises from the east wall at the junction of the two roofs. Ornate cast-iron hoppers are positioned on each gable between aisle and nave.

The west tower is situated on the nave axis and incorporates the porch. It is of three stages, crenellated and crowned by a wrought-iron weathervane. A high string course at roof level carries plain gargoyles at each corner. Small crossed corner buttresses with offsets die into the wall below the ringing chamber but are resumed at the corners of the bell chamber, which is of reduced size. Tall two-light belfry openings face each side of the tower; they are glazed above and have louvres beneath, with a label mould linked to an all-round string course. Small single-light windows light the storey beneath. Above the west door is a traceried window of three trefoil-headed lights beneath a large cinquefoil. The west door itself is under a pointed arch of two orders, with the outer order deeply moulded and standing on a single colonette each side with round cap and base. The porch side door to the south has a single-order equilateral pointed arch with deep mouldings terminating short of the plinth. The windows throughout are in the Decorated style, in Bath stone and without label mouldings, comprising 2, 3 and 5 lights.

The interior consists of a long and wide nave entered through the porch which forms the base of the tower, a north aisle, and a large chancel with organ and vestry to the left. The porch is paved with plain encaustic tiles and features a timber ceiling with crossed beams framing the bell hatch. The inner doorway to the nave is of two orders with simple moulding on the inner arris and double boarded doors. A four-arch arcade serves the north aisle, and a very wide and high chancel arch with Early English corner mouldings stands on circular moulded brackets. The nave roof is of eight bays with arch-braced collar-beam trusses. Pine pews are installed throughout.

Two steps rise to the chancel. The altar is finely carved in late Gothic style with a front of five panels including an intricate IHS within a roundel at the centre, and a vine frieze above the panels. The reredos has three main panels; the centre panel bears a bracket to hold the cross (donated 1905), while the carved panel at left depicts the Good Shepherd and that at right shows a Crucifixion with a recumbent soldier clutching the foot of the Cross. Gothic panelling extends along each side to the chancel corners. At the left is the organ, presented by David Evans of Llangennech Park in 1908, with a Gothic case, and the doorway to the vestry features an equilateral arch with moulded arris and a boarded door with prominent wrought iron hinges. At the right beneath the first window is a triple seat, not fully separate sedilia. The chancel is paved in encaustic tiles, plain generally but glazed within the sanctuary. Choirstalls of simple Gothic carving have pierced backs.

The east window contains five figures of Christ in the main lights with winged cherub heads in the tracery lights above, in memory of D. Evans, 1909. The first window at the south of the chancel dates from 1914 and commemorates two children of the Evans family. The second window is plain but bears the arms of T J Margrave esq., undated. In the nave, the first window shows three figures of Christ, including one after Holman Hunt, also to Evans children, 1914. The fourth window is an Evans memorial of 1955 with the Ascension. The other nave windows are plain. At the north of the aisle the first is an Evans memorial with St Anne and St Mary; the fourth dates from 1964 and commemorates members of the Phillips family of Cwminbwch with scenes of agriculture.

Wall monuments include a Roman Doric memorial to D Evans of 1903 at the left of the chancel, and a white marble monument with an urn at the head in low relief, in memory of the Rev. John Thomas, died 1838, at the right of the chancel. A small tablet commemorates H Bevan of the Artillery Company, 1916. In the nave is a pedimented marble monument to J Williams and E Williams, both churchwardens, died 1923 and 1926 respectively, and a tablet to Nurse Evelyn Davies, who served in the parish from 1941 to 1949. The carved oak pulpit in Gothic style was made by Clarke of Llandaff in 1929. An oak war memorial with roll of honour is fixed to the west wall. Near the north-west corner of the nave stands an old font on an octagonal base. The font itself is square but has been re-tooled, and its original shape is no longer apparent.