Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride, Amlwch

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Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride
Eglwys Ein Harglwyddes, Seren y Môr, a Santes Gwenffrewi
Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride, Amlwch (cropped).jpg
Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride
Isle of Anglesey UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride
Location in Anglesey
Coordinates: 53°24′42″N4°21′05″W / 53.411596°N 4.351442°W / 53.411596; -4.351442
OS grid reference SH 438 931
Location Amlwch, Anglesey
Country Wales, United Kingdom
Denomination Roman Catholic
History
Status Parish church
Founded1932 (construction started)
Dedication St Mary (Our Lady, Star of the Sea) and St Winefride
Consecrated 1937
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designation Grade II*
Designated12 December 2000
Architect(s) Giuseppe Rinvolucri
Architectural type Church
Specifications
Materials Reinforced concrete
Administration
Parish Amlwch
Deanery Caernarfon Deanery
Archdiocese Archdiocese of Cardiff
Diocese Diocese of Wrexham
Clergy
Priest(s) The Reverend Father Michael Ryan [1]

Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride is a Roman Catholic church in Amlwch, a town on the island of Anglesey, north Wales. It was built in the 1930s to a design by an Italian architect, Giuseppe Rinvolucri, using reinforced concrete. The church is in the shape of an upturned boat, reflecting Amlwch's maritime heritage, and is dedicated to Our Lady, Star of the Sea (a title of St Mary) and St Winefride, a Welsh saint.

Contents

The church is a Grade II* listed building, a designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", [2] because it is a "remarkable inter-war church", built to "a highly unusual and experimental design". [3] The Twentieth Century Society has called it "a rare and unique church", [4] and it has also been called "one of Britain's most avant-garde churches". [5]

Location and history

The church is on the A5025 road, about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the west of Amlwch, a town on the north coast of Anglesey, Wales. [6] It is dedicated to St Mary (under the title Our Lady, Star of the Sea) and to St Winefride, a 7th-century Welsh noblewoman who is also venerated at St Winefride's Well, Flintshire. Construction of the church began in 1932, when the foundations were excavated. It was completed in 1937, and the church was consecrated in the same year. [6] The architect was Giuseppe Rinvolucri, an Italian engineer from Piedmont, who settled in Conwy, north Wales, because his English wife was suffering from tuberculosis. His specialist field was the design of Roman Catholic churches, and other – more conventional – examples of his work can be found in Abergele and Porthmadog, also in north Wales. [3] [7] [8]

The church is part of Caernarfon Deanery within the Diocese of Wrexham. [9] As of 2012, the parish priest is Father Michael Ryan, of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The parish of Amlwch also includes the churches of St David, Cemaes Bay, and Our Lady of Lourdes, Benllech. [1]

Damage from the weather and deterioration in the concrete meant that the church closed for worship in 2004, requiring worshippers to attend services elsewhere on Anglesey. [10] [11] [12] Demolition was a possibility in 2006. [5] An appeal launched raised the estimated £1.2 million to £1.4 million necessary for repairs, which included replacing the roof coverings, redecorating internally and externally, and repairing the steps. [10] An application for planning permission for the work was submitted in May 2008 to the Isle of Anglesey County Council. [13] An application for a grant of £840,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund was rejected on 18 March 2009, with the committee concerned about the proposed new extension (terming it "inappropriate"), although recognising the "high heritage merit" of the proposal. [14] Cadw (the Welsh Assembly Government body responsible for the built heritage of Wales) made a grant of £150,000 in 2007; the National Churches Trust made a grant of £10,000 in June 2010; and other bodies and individuals made donations to the appeal. [10] The church reopened after its restoration on 1 May 2011 with a Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Wrexham, Edwin Regan. [15]

Architecture and fittings

The interior in 2017 Amlwch, Our Lady Star of the Sea (35833209016).jpg
The interior in 2017

Built of reinforced concrete, the building is designed in the style of an upturned boat, and the design has a "nautical theme" with elements such as porthole windows. [3] [6] This is a deliberate reference to Amlwch's history as a port town and its position on the coast. [5] [11] The church has six concrete parabolic arch "ribs" along the outside, with portholes on the base plinth between each rib. [3] [8]

The main entrance is at the south end of the church at the top of some stone steps on either side. A window (shaped, like all the others in the church, like a star) set in mosaic is positioned above the door, and there is a stone cross at the top of the facade. The concrete of the church is dressed with stone on the south side, nearest the main road. The ribs on the outside are visible inside the building; in between them, there are patterns of lights and coloured marble panels on the lower parts of the interior walls. The vestry is to the rear of the church, and there is a parish hall, built from masonry, underneath the church. [3] [6] [8] The altar was replaced in 1995 and again on the reopening of the church in 2011, when a carved crucifix, which was brought to Amlwch from a former convent in Liverpool, was also dedicated. [8] [15] The porch houses a sepulchral slab, dating from the latter half of the 13th century. [8]

Assessment

The church is a Grade II* listed building – the second-highest of the three grades of listing, designating "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". [2] It was given this status on 12 December 2000, and has been listed as "a remarkable inter-war church". [3] Cadw describes it as "striking and individual", and "a highly unusual and experimental design which exploits the plastic qualities of its constructional material to create a powerfully expressive religious building." [3]

A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey describes it as "a very impressive building", that "must surely be the most unusual church in Anglesey." [6] A 2009 guide to the buildings of north Wales describes it as "a piece of Italian architectural daring". [7] Referring to the French structural engineer Eugène Freyssinet, who worked with concrete, the guide rhetorically asks, "What inspired this Futurist church, closer to Freyssinet's 1920s airship hangars at Orly, Paris, than to Catholic church design, and so unlike the conservatism of Anglesey building?" [7] Writing before the church reopened, the heritage writer and journalist Simon Jenkins has said that the church was worth a visit for the exterior alone, even though it was closed. He noted the "sweeping parabolic arches, perhaps inspired by airship hangars or by upturned boats in Amlwch harbour", as well as the "bold gable with sloping sides" at the west end, concluding "This church must be saved." [12] It has also been described as "one of Britain's most avant-garde churches". [5] The Twentieth Century Society has said that it is "by far [Rinvolucri's] best work", calling it "a rare and unique church". [4] It noted the "highly individual interpretation of its seaside setting", with a "strikingly modern" parabolic design and a "monumental almost pyramidal aesthetic" at the entrance. [4] A 2011 guide to religious buildings in Wales (written before the church reopened) described it as "most unusual", but added that the fittings were "not worthy of the building". It also noted one writer's words that "no Catholic church (nor any church of another denomination) built in Britain between the wars has the frankly radical character of Amlwch". [8]

Related Research Articles

Amlwch Human settlement in Wales

Amlwch is the most northerly town in Wales and is a community. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. As well as Amlwch town and Amlwch Port, other settlements within the community include Burwen, Porthllethog/Bull Bay and Pentrefelin. The town has a beach in Llaneilian, and it has significant coastal cliffs. Tourism is an important element of the local economy. At one time it was a booming mining town that became the centre of a vast global trade in copper ore. The harbour inlet became a busy port and significant shipbuilding and ship repair centre, as well as an embarkation point with boats sailing to the Isle of Man and to Liverpool. The community covers an area of about 18 square kilometres.

Star of the Sea Church, Star of the Sea Catholic Church or Stella Maris Church may refer to:

Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham, is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Wales. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cardiff, directly subject to the authority of the Pope.

The Caernarfon Deanery is a Roman Catholic deanery in the Diocese of Wrexham that covers several churches in Caernarfon and the surrounding area in Gwynedd and Anglesey.

The Rhyl Deanery is a Roman Catholic deanery in the Diocese of Wrexham that covers several churches in Conwy and Denbighshire.

The Flint Deanery is a Roman Catholic deanery in the Diocese of Wrexham that covers several churches in Flintshire, Wales.

The Wrexham Deanery is a Roman Catholic deanery in the Diocese of Wrexham that covers several churches in Wrexham and Powys.

St Cristioluss Church, Llangristiolus Church in Wales

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St Cwyllogs Church, Llangwyllog Church in Wales

St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog, is a medieval church near Llangwyllog, in Anglesey, north Wales. St Cwyllog founded a church here in the 6th century, although the exact date is unknown. The existence of a church here was recorded in 1254 and parts of the present building may date from around 1200. Other parts are from the 15th century, with an unusual annexe added in the 16th century. The church contains some 18th-century fittings, including a rare Georgian three-decker pulpit and reading desk.

St Eleths Church, Amlwch Church in Wales

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St Marys Church, Bodewryd Church in Wales

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St Tyfrydogs Church, Llandyfrydog Church in Wales

St Tyfrydog's Church, Llandyfrydog is a small medieval church, in Llandyfrydog, Anglesey, north Wales. The date of establishment of a church on this site is unknown, but one 19th-century Anglesey historian says that it was about 450. The oldest parts of the present building are dated to about 1400, with the chancel dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. It is built from rough, small, squared stones, dressed with limestone. One of the windows on the south side is raised to illuminate the pulpit, a decision that in the eyes of one 19th-century commentator "disfigures the building."

Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, or variations, may refer to:

St Donas Church, Llanddona Church in Wales

St Dona's Church, Llanddona ) is a small 19th-century parish church in the village of Llanddona, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church on this site was built in 610. The present building on the site dates from 1873, and was designed by the rector at the time. It reuses earlier material including a decorated 15th-century doorway and a 17th-century bell.

St Gwenllwyfos Church Church in Anglesey, Wales

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Giuseppe Rinvolucri

Giuseppe Rinvolucri was an Italian engineer and architect, the designer of the "extraordinary parabolic-arched Roman Catholic church at Amlwch" on the isle of Anglesey, Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride.

St Mihangels Church, Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn Church in Wales

St Mihangel's Church in the village of Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn is a former parish church now used as the chapel for RAF Valley in Anglesey, north Wales. The date of the first church on the site is uncertain, but in 1862 the then-existing church was rebuilt. St Mihangel's became the chapel for the nearby Royal Air Force base in 1998, after the Church in Wales had ceased using it for services. It was then extended by dismantling and reassembling another Anglesey church, St Enghenedl's, at the west end of the building.

St Winefrides Church, Holywell Church in Flintshire, Wales

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St Winefride Church may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 "The Parish of Our Lady Star Of The Sea And St Winefride, Amlwch in the county of Anglesey". Diocese of Wrexham . Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 What is listing? (PDF). Cadw. 2005. p. 6. ISBN   1-85760-222-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cadw, "Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, St Winifred  (Grade II*) (24455)", National Historic Assets of Wales , retrieved 2 April 2019 (The church's name is spelt incorrectly on the Cadw document.)
  4. 1 2 3 Branscome, Eva (September 2005). "The Italian Touch". Twentieth Century Society . Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Leach, Ben (24 May 2008). "Save Our Churches: lost without 'Our Lady'". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Jones, Geraint I. L. (2006). Anglesey Churches. Carreg Gwalch. p. 31. ISBN   1-84527-089-4.
  7. 1 2 3 Haslam, Richard; Orbach, Julian; Voelcker, Adam (2009). "Anglesey: Amlwch". The Buildings of Wales: Gwynedd. Yale University Press. p. 93. ISBN   978-0-300-14169-6.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wooding, Jonathan; Yates, Nigel, eds. (2011). A guide to the churches and chapels of Wales. University of Wales Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN   978-0-7083-2118-8.
  9. ↑ "Wrexham Diocese: Deaneries". Diocese of Wrexham. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 Hearn, Elgan (16 June 2010). "Amlwch church gets funding boost for renovation project". Bangor and Anglesey Mail . Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Our Lady Star Of The Sea And St. Winefride RC Church". Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Isle of Anglesey. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  12. 1 2 Jenkins, Simon (2008). Wales: Churches, Houses, Castles. Penguin Books. p. 48. ISBN   978-0713998931.
  13. ↑ "List of Applications Received in the Week 12/5/08 – 18/5/08" (PDF). Isle of Anglesey County Council. p. 4. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  14. ↑ "Heritage Lottery Fund Committee for Wales Meeting on 18 March 2009" (PDF). Heritage Lottery Fund. p. 3. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  15. 1 2 Powell, David (2 May 2011). "Doors open at house of God". Daily Post (North Wales) . Retrieved 7 June 2011.

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