2948

 

II*  

Designated  

11/07/1951  

18/01/2002  

Church of St. Cadoc  

 

Newport  

Caerleon  

Newport  

Caerleon  

333939  

190642  

N  

In the centre of Caerleon village immediately north of The Roman Legionary Museum.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

The church appears to have been a Norman foundation and two arches of a C12 arcade survive in the south aisle of the nave although these were evidently very largely reconstructed in the C19. The first church was rebuilt in the C15 with a west tower, a broad nave with north and south aisles and a chancel, of this work the tower, the west wall of the nave, and the west wall and the lower parts of the north wall of the north aisle survive. Otherwise the church was restored and rebuilt in 1867 by J P Seddon except for the chancel which had already been rebuilt in 1857 by J Prichard and J P Seddon, contractor Jenkins of Caerleon, sculptor H C Frith. The stained glass windows were provided by the Charles Williams Memorial Fund at that time. The church has been little changed since except for the enlarging of the chancel and the addition of chapel and vestries in 1932-5 by W.D Caroe; the Lady Chapel also had some work done to it in 1953.  

The church is constructed of local red sandstone rubble and conglomerate with the Victorian and C20 work being much more carefully squared and in wider courses than the medieval work seen, for instance on the tower. There are freestone dressings, quoins and other patchings and the Victorian windows are all in Bath stone; Welsh slate roofs. It consists of nave, chancel, north aisle, shorter south aisle with the tower at its west end, chapel to the south of the chancel, south porch and an organ chamber and vestry to the north of the chancel. Beginning at the south west corner, the south aisle has the tower at its west end. Three bay aisle with the south porch as the first bay. This is gabled and has a pointed arch with colonettes with a dripmould over, wrought iron gates. Two large 4-light Perpendicular style windows to the right. The gables are coped with an east gable cross. The Lady Chapel abuts the east gable but is slightly smaller and has a lower roof. Two 2-light windows in the south wall, another 4-light one in the east gable, all Perpendicular style, gable cross. The chancel projects further east and has corner buttresses. This is 1935 work as is the more elaborate 5-light window with the mullions of the central light going up right through to the arch. The nave behind has only its west gable visible. The north wall of the chancel is entirely covered by the vestry which has a gabled west end with a 3-light window, a corner buttress and two small windows and a door on the north wall, coped gable with cross. The north aisle has four 4-light windows as on the south aisle and another on the west gable. Coped gables with cross to east gable end. The west gables of the north aisle and nave have a battered plinth as does the tower. The nave gable is the same size as the aisle one but its 4-light window is not as tall as it has a pointed arch doorway below. Coped gable with cross. Finally comes the square tower which has its west wall in line with the nave and stands in the angle between the nave and the south aisle. The tower is in two stages, with the lower one rising to the ridge height of the nave. The west face has a small pointed arch door and two lancet lights above, the south face has threee lancets, the lowest window on this side has the remains of cusping suggesting a possible date of c1300. A band separates the stages and above this is the 1887 Jubilee clock with three faces and above that the bell openings, 2-lights with trefoil heads to each face. Machicolated and castellated parapet; the whole of the top stage is probably late medieval.  

The interior is plastered and painted throughout. The nave has a three bay arcade to the south aisle and a four bay one to the north aisle. They are of C15 Perpendicular type but it is uncertain how much they have been replaced in the 1867 restoration. There is a two bay arcade between the chancel and the Lady Chapel. 1867 waggon roof of early C16 type. The only other pre-Victorian features are the two arches and two framed openings of the Norman arcade but it seems highly likely that these were wholly reconstructed from parts in 1867. The furnishings are all 1867 and later. The organ and the furnishings of the chancel and Lady Chapel date from 1935. The fine stained glass in the large Perpendicular windows were fixed in 1867 by the Charles Williams Memorial Fund (qv The Endowed School). The east window of the chancel dates from 1953. There are six bells which date from 1881 and two from1886; the bell frame paid for by the Charles Williams Memorial Fund. The organ dates from the 1880s but was reconstructed in 1952 and given a case designed by A E Caroe.  

Included as a mostly Victorian church designed by J P Seddon but still with a fine medieval tower. It is the centrepiece of Caerleon.