3769

 

II*  

Designated  

29/05/1968  

28/05/1999  

Church of St Peris  

 

Gwynedd  

Llanberis  

Caernarfon  

Nant Peris  

260656  

358291  

SW  

Located in the centre of Nant Peris at the western end of the Pass of Llanberis in a roughly rectangular-shaped churchyard with a stone lychgate dated 1929 on the northern side.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

Earliest fabric to nave south wall and lower part of west wall likely to be C14, transepts C15 or C16, extended eastwards and chancel rebuilt in early C17, the whole restored by Henry Kennedy in 1848, including the rebuilding of the upper part of the west wall.  

Parish church. Roughly coursed rubblestone with ashlar dressings; slate roofs. Original roughly cruciform plan with transepts extended to east to form square east end in present T-shaped plan (see History). Windows all C19. South side of nave has wide C20 stone porch to right; double doors with strap hinges and timber framing to gable; 3-light ogee cinquefoil-headed window under square label to centre and broad single- light cinquefoil-headed window to left with 2 quatrefoils above to square arch without label. West wall has narrow ogee cinquefoil-headed window under square label to lower part; upper part is inset having a gabled bellcote with cross, coping and chamfered off-sets; pointed arch housing single bell dated 1610. South side has 3-light ogee cinquefoil-headed window under square label to left with another to right in angle with south transept. This has a similar window except there is panel tracery above the cinquefoil lights, the whole set in a pointed arch with head-stops. Eastward projection of transept on stepped plinth, carried round to chancel and north transept projection, has 2-light cinquefoil-headed window with sexfoil above in pointed hollow-chamfered arch; identical window to east wall of north transept projection. Chancel window similar to that in south transept except that arch is hollow chamfered; north transept has identical window to south transept; crosses to gables of chancel and north transept.  

Fine C15 chamfered arch-braced roof to nave in 6 1/2 bays has short cusped windbraces to 2 tiers of flat purlins; exposed flat rafters; similar roofs in 3 bays to transepts and transept extensions, except they are without windbraces and have square purlins. The trusses of the transept roofs rest on north-south running moulded beams supported on massive C19 chamfered piers to the centre and pentagonal stone responds with moulded capitals and bases to the north and south walls. Chancel roof in 2 1/2 bays has boarded wagon roof below arch-braced structure with moulded ribs; moulded wall-plates to transept extensions, north plain, south embattled. Screen at west end of nave is cut down from the C15 or early C16 rood screen; 6 cinquefoil-headed lights to either side of central square-headed openings, the lights with C19 stained glass panels inset; mortises to the top of the screen, which has 2 C18 candle holders, indicate the position of the rood figures; a C18 almsbox with 3 locks has been hollowed out of the base of the screen on the south side, below which can be seen the position of 2 formerly fixed seats. Pointed south doorway is completely plastered and has C19 ribbed door with brass door furniture; C19 octagonal panelled font directly opposite. Victorian stone pulpit has trefoil-shaped panel to front within which is a marble quatrefoil with symbols of the 4 Evangelists; stiff-leaf carving to the top. C19 altar rails, lectern and 2 reading desks; the communion table, flanked by 2 C18 chairs, is also Victorian but re-uses some C17 woodwork. Stained glass in east window, signed by W Aikman, is the gift of John Christopher Lloyd Williams, 1926. Stone flag floor throughout except for encaustic tiles within altar enclosure. Pedimented marble wall tablet on north wall of nave to Griffith Ellis of Hafoty, Dinorwic (d.1860) "For the period of 46 years, superintendent of Thomas Assheton Smith Esq. Extensive Slate Quarries". Similar tablet on south wall to John Reed Davies and Hugh Ellis Davies, d.1882 and 1891 respectively in South Africa. South wall also has brass plaque of 1779 to the wife, son and daughter of Revd. John Morgan (d.1801), curate of Llanberis, who is commemorated by the slate wall tablet adjacent. Polished slate wall tablet to Robert Lloyd Williams (d.1870) and marble war memorial to the fallen of 1914-19.  

Graded II* on account of its surviving medieval fabric, including its fine C15 arch-braced roofs.