St Philip's Church, Caerdeon | |
---|---|
52°44′38″N3°59′58″W / 52.744°N 3.9994°W | |
OS grid reference | SH 651 181 |
Location | Caerdeon, Gwynedd |
Country | Wales |
Denomination | Church in Wales |
Website | Friends of Friendless Churches |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Redundant |
Heritage designation | Grade I |
Designated | 9 November 1992 |
Architect(s) | John Louis Petit |
Architectural type | Church |
Specifications | |
Materials | Stone, slate roof |
St Philip's Church, Caerdeon, near Barmouth, in Gwynedd, North Wales, is a redundant church and a Grade I listed building. The church was built in 1862 for the Rev. William Edward Jelf, a High church clergyman and Senior Censor at Christ Church, Oxford. It was designed by his brother-in-law, John Louis Petit. Petit was a noted architectural critic and artist, but St Philip's is one of only two buildings known to be by him. Jelf wanted a church on his newly acquired estate where his Oxford seminarians could worship in the English language. This led to a considerable controversy as there was an existing legal obligation to hold services in Welsh in all churches in Welsh-speaking areas. Jelf lost his case in the Court of Arches but was supported by the Bishop of Bangor who used his influence and position in the House of Lords to secure the passing of the English Services in Wales Act in 1863, which allowed for English-language services in certain circumstances.
William Edward Jelf (1811-1875) was a Classical scholar, clergyman and senior censor at Christchurch, Oxford. His entry in the Dictionary of National Biography records that "faults of temper and manner rendered him unpopular", and much of his life was devoted to pursuing a large number of liturgical and ecclesiological controversies. [1] In the 1850s, Jelf purchased the Caerdeon estate and commissioned a church to the designs of his brother-in-law, John Louis Petit. [2] Petit, an artist and architectural critic, was himself a magnet for controversy, spending much of his life in opposition to the prevailing tenets of Gothic Revival architecture advanced by Augustus Pugin. [lower-alpha 1] [4]
The construction and operation of St Philip's embroiled both men in further, bitter argument. Jelf was determined that services in his church would be conducted in English, as few if any of his intended congregation of Oxford seminarians could speak Welsh. His intention ran counter to the prevailing legal position, which required that services be conducted in Welsh in all areas where the Welsh language predominated. [5] The Rector of Llanaber took Jelf to the Court of Arches, where Jelf lost his case, but his supporter, James Colquhoun Campbell, Bishop of Bangor, used his position in and influence over the House of Lords to secure the passing of the English Services in Wales Act of 1863, [6] which allowed the conduct of services in English in certain circumstances. This included situations where the church in question was a private chapel, an exemption which applied to St Philip's. [7]
St Philip's continued in use throught the 20th century. In that time, the explorer Bill Tilman worshipped at the church and acted as bell-ringer. [5]
The Church of Wales declared St Philip's redundant in 2014 and it came into the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches in 2021. [5] The Friends have been undertaking a major programme of fundraising and restoration since their acquisition. [8] [9]
The architecture of St Philip's is unsual for its time and location. In addition to arguing for a sensistive approach to resoration, and against the prevailing currents of the Gotic Revival, Petit, an experienced traveller, contended for the use of European sources. St Philip's, his only church and one of only two buildings known to have been designed by him, [lower-alpha 2] has been described variously as "rustic Mediterranean, Alpine, of French Basque influence or like an Italian farm building". [10]
Orignally a Grade II* listed building, [11] its status was subsequently upgraded to Grade I. [2]
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John Louis Petit was an artist and architectural historian whose paintings of buildings and landscapes, almost exclusively in watercolour, complemented his activities as one of the mid-19th century's leading writers and speakers on ecclesiastical architecture. He was a vocal opponent of the dominant architectural orthodoxies of the Gothic Revival.
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