| St John the Baptist Church | |
|---|---|
 View from Church Street | |
  Location within Cardiff | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Perpendicular Gothic |
| Town or city | Cardiff |
| Country | Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°28′50.59″N3°10′42.13″W / 51.4807194°N 3.1783694°W |
| Construction started | c. 1460s |
St John the Baptist Church is a Grade I listed parish church in Cardiff, Wales. Other than Cardiff Castle, it is the only medieval building in the city centre.
Black's Picturesque Guide through Wales (1851) described St John's as "an ancient and finely proportioned edifice, with a noble quadrangular tower, surmounted by pierced battlements and four open gothic pinnacles... It is justly admired, and forms a conspicuous feature in every view of the town." [1] The same remains true today, with good views of the church from Church Street, Trinity Street and Working Street in the city centre.
John Newman, in his Glamorgan volume of the Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, describes the pinnacled west tower as a "magnificent marker". [2] At a height of over 40 metres [3] the tower is in four stages, faced in grey limestone ashlar with details in buff coloured Dundry stone. [2]
The church was built in 1180 as a chapel of ease for the larger St Mary's Church, itself founded by Benedictine monks from Tewkesbury Abbey. Originally constructed of blue Lias, a Jurassic stone with layers of fossilised shells, it was sourced from Aberthaw. The walls were then originally dressed with freestone - limestone sourced from Dundry. [4]
St John's was sacked during a rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. [5] The church was rebuilt in the second half of the 15th century [5] and given a perpendicular tower with a peal of ten bells. Today it still has a crown of openwork battlements, reminiscent of churches in the West Country of England, and is dated c. 1490 because of the similar Jasper Tower of Llandaff Cathedral which was built at this time. [2]
After the foundations of St Mary's were destroyed by the Bristol Channel flood of 1607, the two churches were worked as a dual-location parish until all main services were moved to St John in 1620.
In 1843, the 2nd Marquess of Bute paid for the construction of the Church of St Mary and St Stephen in Bute Street as a permanent replacement for St Mary's. [6] This allowed the reconstruction of St John, with extensions to the church made in 1886–1897 using carboniferous limestone quarried from Culverhouse Cross. The churchyard wall was also rebuilt, using original Lias mixed with red sandstone in the walls, topped with coping stones of Devonian sandstones from the Forest of Dean. [4]
In 1851 the Cardiff firm of Messrs. Thomas & Norris were engaged for repewing of St John's with the work to be completed by Christmas that year. [7]
St John's stained glass windows date from circa 1855, in the north chapel, with references to the Bute family. Those in the north inner aisle date to 1869, by Morris & Co, with a top row of apostles designed by William Morris himself. [2]
The church was increased in width with outer aisles added to St John's in 1889 and 1891. The old aisle windows were re-set and all the new building was re-surfaced with Sweldon limestone. [2]
The graveyard, already full, was divided by a new public pathway in the 1890s connecting Working Street with Cardiff Central Market. As part of the agreement for the new path, Cardiff Corporation agreed to take responsibility for the graveyard south of the path. This later became St John's Gardens. [8] The path is still owned by the church and is closed every Good Friday. Brass numbers on the path mark the location of graves and family tombs. [8]
In 1952 St John's became a Grade I listed building, [9] of exceptional architectural and historical interest.
The church serves as the priory church for Wales of the Order of Saint John.
The church's current organ was built in 1894 by "Father" Henry Willis. It was restored in 2005 by David Wells of Liverpool, funded by private donations and the Heritage Lottery Fund. [10] The completion of the restoration was marked with a concert by Thomas Trotter, attended by the Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan and Lord Mayor of Cardiff. [11] In 2013 the British Institute of Organ Studies awarded it a Grade I Historic Organ Certificate, as an organ of exceptional interest. [12]
Llandaff Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and three Welsh saints: Dubricius, Teilo and Oudoceus. It is one of two cathedrals in Cardiff, the other being the Roman Catholic Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral in the city centre.
Newport Cathedral, also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is Newport Cathedral of St Woolos, King and Confessor. The name of the saint, Woolos, is an anglicisation of the Welsh name Gwynllyw.
St Michael's Church, also known as St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Church, is in St. Michael's Church Road, St Michael's Hamlet, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The church contains much cast iron in its structure, and its citation in the National Heritage List for England states it has "one of the earliest and most thorough uses of industrial materials in a major building". It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool, and the deanery of Toxteth and Wavertree. Its benefice is united with those of Christ Church, Toxteth Park, and St Andrew, Liverpool.
St John the Baptist's Church is in the village of Aldford, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Malpas. Its benefice is combined with those of St Peter, Waverton and St Mary, Bruera. It is described by the authors of the Buildings of England series as "expensive" and "stiffly conventional".
John Prichard was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales.
St Sampson's is the Church of England parish church of the town of Cricklade, Wiltshire, England. A large aisled church with a central tower, the present building dates from the late 12th century but has fragments of Anglo-Saxon work. The church is a Grade I listed building.
Architecture in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, dates from Norman times to the present day. Its urban fabric is largely Victorian and later, reflecting Cardiff's rise to prosperity as a major coal port in the 19th century. No single building style is associated with Cardiff, but the city centre retains several 19th and early 20th century shopping arcades.
The Church of St Mary Magdalene is the Church of England parish church for the village of Ditcheat, Somerset, England. There has been a church on the site since 824, and the present building owes much of its grandeur to the Abbots of Glastonbury. Historic England have designated it a Grade I listed building.
Castle Quarter is an independent retail destination area in the north of the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. Castle is also a community (parish) of Cardiff.
St Mary's Church was an Anglican church in Cardiff, Wales, which stood at the south end of the current St. Mary's Street, from 1107 until 1620. After severe flood damage it was abandoned in 1701 and later replaced at a different location in 1843.
There are around 1,000 listed buildings in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. A listed building is one considered to be of special architectural, historical or cultural significance, which is protected from being demolished, extended or altered, unless special permission is granted by the relevant planning authorities. The Welsh Government makes decisions on individual cases, taking advice from the heritage agency Cadw, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and local councils.
St Martin's Church is a Grade I listed Anglican church, dedicated to Martin of Tours, in Ancaster, Lincolnshire, England. The church is 6 miles (10 km) north-east from Grantham, below the southern edge of the Lincoln Cliff, and at the side of High Dyke, part of the old Ermine Street Roman road. St Martin's is in the ecclesiastical parish of Ancaster and Wilsford, in the Deanery of Loveden, and the Diocese of Lincoln.
St Margaret's Church is a nineteenth-century Church in Wales parish church in the suburb of Roath, Cardiff, Wales. It includes the mausoleum of the Marquises of Bute.
St John the Evangelist's Church is in Church Lane, Yealand Conyers, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Blackburn. The church was built in 1838, extended in 1861 and again in 1882. It is constructed mainly in limestone, and consists of a nave, a north aisle, a chancel and a west tower. Inside is a west gallery and stained glass by Shrigley and Hunt. The church holds services on Sundays and Wednesdays. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
The Church of St John the Baptist is a medieval church in Llanblethian in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. Believed to have been built in the 12th century, the church boasts an unusual tower, consistent with the style more common in the south west of England. It underwent extensive restoration in the late 19th century, undertaken by C. B. Fowler of Cardiff. The Church of St John was listed as a Grade I building on 22 February 1963.
The Church of the Holy Cross is a medieval church in Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. Initially a chapel of ease to Church of St John the Baptist, Llanblethian of Cowbridge as a medieval market town. Believed to have been built in the 13th century, the church has an unusual tower design. It has undergone several restorations including one by John Prichard in 1850–52. The Church of the Holy Cross was listed as a Grade I building on 12 May 1963.
St Peter's Church, Roath is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It is administered by the Rosminians.
From 1865 until his death in 1881 the Victorian architect William Burges undertook the reconstruction of Cardiff Castle for his patron, John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. The rebuilding saw the creation of some of the most significant Victorian interiors in Britain.
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We hear with great satisfaction that the tender of Messrs Thomas and Norris for repewing this church has been taken. The committee of the management met on Wednesday last, and out of three tenders that were sent in accepted that of the above respectable firm, as it was £95 less than one of the two, and £101 4s. 4d. less than the other. The whole of the work is to be completed and the church reopened for Divine Service before Christmas under heavy forfeitures.
