Church of St Mary is a Grade II listed building in the Brecon Beacons National Park local planning authority area, Wales. First listed on 28 July 2005. Church. 1 related planning application.
Church of St Mary
- WRENN ID
- stubborn-pillar-alder
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Brecon Beacons National Park
- Country
- Wales
- Date first listed
- 28 July 2005
- Type
- Church
- Source
- Cadw listing
Description
The Church of St Mary is a stone building with Bath stone dressings, stone tiled roofs, and terracotta ridge tiles, dating from the 1860s. It features a tower, nave, and chancel under a single roof, along with a north porch. The tower is plain, with a pyramid slate roof, a plinth, a chamfered string course just above the plinth, and no door. There are square-headed, chamfered two-light bell openings with louvres, a single light on the south, and two loops on the south and west sides.
The nave and chancel share a roof with a coped east gable. A chamfered plinth steps down at the division between the nave and chancel, marked by a stepped buttress. The north side includes a porch to the right of two plain two-light windows, while the south side has three similar windows with simple cusped lancet lights in Bath stone. The masonry of the left end of the south wall extends over the tower for a short distance, possibly indicating an earlier feature. The north porch, built in 1867, has stone tiles, a coped gable, ashlar flush quoins, a chamfered pointed arch with a hoodmould, and double iron gates. The inner north door is a pointed ashlar design from 1867, with wrought iron scrolled leaf hinges. The chancel has two cusped lancets on each side, and an elaborate three-light pointed window high in the east wall, with a hoodmould and stone voussoirs.
The interior has whitewashed plastered walls and a scissor-rafter roof, supported by four arch-braced scissor trusses, the third being ornamented to mark the chancel. The trusses rest on stone corbels, except for the chancel truss, which is carried on ringed column shafts from the floor. These shafts have foliate capitals, and the columns are reported to be cast iron. A low, broad, medieval or 16th-century purple sandstone door, with a chamfered pointed arch, is located in the tower. The door has a plank design and wrought-iron scrolled hinges. The window reveals are segmental-pointed. There is one step to the chancel, one to the sanctuary, and one to the altar. A seat is found within the chancel's south lancet.
The font, possibly from the 12th-13th century, has been heavily restored and features a round bowl, shaft, and base. A conical 19th-century timber font cover with a metal cross is also present. A painted ashlar pulpit, in a high Victorian style, has four curved fronts with moulded courses and pierced cusped openings (1-3-3-1). Stone steps lead to the pulpit, fronted by a tri-lobe shaft. A brass eagle lectern, dating after 1892, stands nearby, supported by wrought iron scrolled rails with leaf ends. Oak stalls, with pierced cusped openings to the backs and simple kneelers, are complemented by pine open bench pews. A brass memorial is dedicated to the Rev. T. J. Powell, who died in 1864. Stained glass windows include a three-light east window from 1909, possibly by R. J. Newbery, depicting Christ with SS Mary and David. A chancel north lancet commemorates V. Evans, who died in 1887, and a south lancet from 1856 depicts the Presentation.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
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