Church of All Saints, Oystermouth

All Saints Church comprises two distinct parts: an 'old church' on the south side and a 'new church' built in 1915 on the north. The old church consists of a west tower with a 19th-century porch on its north side, plus a nave and lower chancel now serving as the south aisle and Lady Chapel. The new church of 1915 forms the present nave and chancel under a single roof, with a shallow north aisle and a low projection at the east end.

The Old Church

The old church is built of rubble stone with a renewed slate roof behind 19th-century coped gables. The Lady Chapel features three stepped lancet windows dating from the 13th century, though they were reset during 19th-century works. The south wall contains a 19th-century two-light window on the right under a shouldered lintel and relieving arch. A doorway with a two-centred head and ribbed 19th-century door sits left of centre, with a lancet window at the left end. The short east return wall of the south aisle has a single lancet.

The south wall of the south aisle displays windows from various periods. Left of centre is a blocked medieval doorway under a two-centred arch. To its left are two 19th-century two-light windows with geometrical tracery—one with a trefoil, the other with a quatrefoil in the head. Right of the doorway is a cusped lancet from the late 13th or 14th century, followed by a square-headed 16th-century window of three cusped lights with hood mould and label stops. Further right is a 19th-century Perpendicular three-light window with hood mould and foliage stops.

The two-stage tower is unbuttressed and has a shallow projecting turret offset to the right in the south wall, breaking through a string course between the stages. The south wall features stair lights in the turret, a clock below the parapet, a narrow window above the string course in the ringing chamber, and a narrow belfry window with louvres. The west wall has a similar belfry window. The west window comprises three cusped lights under a square head, while the west door has a two-centred head and 19th-century boarded door with strap hinges. An impost band continues around the south face. The north wall has a narrow opening above the porch and two simple belfry windows flanking a round black clock face above an engraved tablet commemorating the gift of the clock by Francis Tippins in 1875.

The porch abuts the north side of the tower and has a three-light west window with cusped heads. To its right is a projecting two-stage turret, whose upper stage turns polygonal under a pyramidal roof of stone slabs. The turret has a narrow doorway in the west wall, similar to the tower west doorway, and a small window above under a shouldered lintel. The north wall contains a lancet. The porch's north wall has a doorway under a lancet arch with a hood mould bearing large head stops. Double doors feature scrolled strap hinges.

The New Church (1915)

The new church is in Perpendicular style, built of snecked, rock-faced stone with lighter Bath stone dressings and a slate roof behind coped gables. The nave and chancel have eaves cornices incorporating four-leaf flowers interspersed with grotesque heads. Three clerestorey windows each contain four cusped lights. The east end has a parapet to the gable with a large nine-light window. Below it is a projecting vestry, its roof hidden behind a plain parapet. The vestry has three mullioned windows in the east wall, a similar window and arched doorway with ribbed door in the south wall. The vestry also projects on the north side of the chancel, where there is a similar doorway with ribbed door flanked by one-light windows, all under a single hood mould. Stone steps on the north side lead to a crypt below the north transept.

The north and south walls of the chancel both have shallow set-back corbelled shafts and a single three-light transomed window. The transept features a three-light north window above a three-light square-headed crypt window, both with hood moulds. The embattled north aisle has oversized gargoyles. At the left end is a two-centred moulded doorway with ribbed door and hood mould, flanked by cusped lancets. Further right are two four-light windows. The west wall of the nave has a set-back north buttress with gablet. Above the apex of the west window is an attached shaft standing on a corbel, as if intended to be carried up as a pinnacle but cut off by the moulded coping of the parapet. The west window comprises five stepped lancets, and left of the porch is a square-headed three-light window with hood mould. The aisle has a two-light geometrical west window.

Interior

The lofty nave has ashlar walls and a flat-pitched keeled wagon roof continuing to the chancel with a full-height Tudor chancel arch between. The roof has boarded panels and thin ribs. The principals stand on polygonal shafts rising from foliage corbels. The south aisle has a five-bay Early English style arcade (built for the 19th-century north aisle) with piers composed of four clustered shafts, moulded capitals and two-centred arches with two orders of chamfers. The taller north arcade comprises three bays with octagonal piers, moulded capitals and two-centred moulded arches. At the west end is a lower, narrower moulded arch without capitals. The north aisle has a simple lean-to roof. The south aisle has plastered walls except in the Lady Chapel where rubble stone is exposed. The roof has arched braces and diagonal struts above collar beams, and is boarded behind the principals. The round-headed tower arch is plastered and probably early medieval. The moulded lancet arch to the Lady Chapel (formerly the chancel arch) is 19th century and has no capitals except for an inner order with a moulded capital on a shaft with foliage corbel.

In the chancel is a four-centred arch to the Lady Chapel set within two blind four-centred arches. The sedilia have vaulted canopies and crocketed finials. The piscina is similar and the basin is contained within a polygonal projection. The north transept houses the organ.

Furnishings

The font dates from the 12th or early 13th century—a plain square bowl with lobed undersides on a round pedestal and square base. The tall Perpendicular style font cover is late 19th century. In the Lady Chapel is a circular pillar piscina with moulded base and block-shaped capital containing the basin.

A tall rood screen by Barnard was erected as a memorial to the 1914–18 war, and the names of the war dead are carved in relief on the dado. The screen has five lights, the central light of double width, with ribbed coving, a pendant frieze, a cornice of vine trails and shields, and brattishing. Above is a rood image. The south aisle chapel also has a rood screen commemorating Captain Edward Strich (died 1915), with an inscription and linenfold panelling forming the dado. The remainder of the screen comprises a central doorway flanked by three Gothic traceried lights, above which is a moulded cornice and brattishing.

The pulpit has an inscription at its base but the date is obscured. A shaped, polygonal stone base has blind Gothic panels to the stem and a moulded cornice. The pulpit itself is of wood and richly detailed, with open ogee arches and diagonally set pinnacles. In the chancel, the choir stalls have moulded ends with poppy heads. The communion rail was added around 1929 and has panelled, fret-cut balusters infilled with ironwork tracery and a moulded hand rail. The rail is wholly replaced in the centre. The reredos, depicting scenes from the Life of Christ in the style of manuscript illuminations, was added in 1951 and is by Faith Craft Works of St Albans.

Stained Glass

The windows contain glass demonstrating changes in style from the late 19th to late 20th century. The traditional style east window of around 1929 shows Christ flanked by saints Peter and Paul, Asaph, John, David, Deiniol and Woolos. The chancel south wall has a window depicting Faith, Hope and Charity commemorating Isabel Crawshay (died 1863). Glass in the Lady Chapel is dated 1918 and 1923. In the south aisle are windows with allegorical scenes by Curtis, Ward & Hughes of London, dated 1903, and by Joseph Bell, dated 1880.

In the north aisle are three similar traditional-style windows of around 1915, including the Bible story of the loaves and fishes commemorating the loss of the Mumbles lifeboat in 1903, and Christ walking on water with a lifeboat below, commemorating the loss of the lifeboat in 1883. Post-war glass is mostly by Tim Smith: in the north aisle is a large representation of the lifeboat and crew dated 1977, and a Remembrance Window of 1989. In the south aisle is commemorative glass entitled 'Adoration of Our Senses' dated 1986. A window dedicated to the Mumbles Railway dated 1982 is in the west wall of the north aisle.