11372

 

II  

Designated  

27/02/1992  

17/02/1998  

Church of All Saints  

 

Bridgend  

Porthcawl  

Porthcawl  

Porthcawl  

281636  

176993  

S  

Centrally within the town of Porthcawl, just NW of the main shopping thoroughfare of St John's Street and on a corner site amidst the seaside housing development of the late C19 and early C20. Surrounded by a churchyard not used for burial.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

Designed 1909 by George Halliday, Llandaff Diocesan Architect; foundation stone laid by G Blundell 1912; built 1912-14 by subscription to provide a church in the new and developing town of Porthcawl, the medieval parish church of Newton being some miles to E. SE tower never built, Lady Chapel and choir vestry NE added 1960s, architect Trevor Roderick, in place of former lean-to, and porch NW to match S porch of original design. Cost of original building £9750. The successor to a tin church of 1892-1914.  

Late Gothic style. Built of red rock-faced snecked sandstone with yellow and buff ashlar dressings; roof of Port Dinorwic slates, apex crosses. Plan of continuous nave and chancel, N and S aisles, N and S porches and NE Lady Chapel and vestry. N porch, now main entrance, is attached to W end of N aisle; it is gabled and flanked by chunky angle buttresses, with swept offsets, battered plinth and ashlar panels at top with relief canopywork mouldings; shallow apex niche; pointed arched doorway with very narrow roll mouldings, hoodmould and decorative double iron gates; 2-light square headed side window. Five bay N aisle has 2-tiered buttresses between each bay with stepped offsets, three 3-light windows with intricate Perpendicular style tracery under hood mould and 2 and 1 light windows W and E; ventilation grilles under each; battered plinth which continues all round church; plain ashlar papapet with moulded coping incorporating a bell at W end. At NE is the added wing with 2 high trefoil headed chancel lights above; 2 doorways. E end is dominated by the large Perpendicular style 5 light window; corner buttresses with offsets and tall plinth to accommodate fall in ground; dedication stone 1912. S aisle similar to N with additional similar E window and to S chancel. SE tower never built and brick fills the gap. S porch similar to N and formed original main entrance. W end buttressed similar to E and has large rose window in 12 lights with semi-circular hood mould; at ground floor level 3 single trefoil headed baptistry lights evenly spaced under a continuous hood mould.  

Spacious and airy interior has no division between nave and chancel, very high N and S arcades, and the nave was reportedly never pewed; woodblock floor. Walls are of varied tone ashlar, red sandstone dado, yellow above and pale dressings to windows. Five bay N and S arcades have lozenge shaped piers with attached 3/4 round shafts on the angles which act as responds to the carved timber brackets of each roof truss in the spandrels; mouldings to plinth. Boarded timber barrel ceiling to nave, enriched to chancel, open to aisles, dentilled wallplate. Aisle windows have deep pointed arched recesses. Chancel windows have stepped sills. To N a heavily moulded 3 bay arcade leads to Lady Chapel and to S is a single large arched organ recess; black and white marble floor. Sanctuary is dominated by a high stone reredos dated 1913 built out from E wall in Decorated style, with elaborately moulded ogee arches and saints in canopied niches surmounted by angels on stone shafts; flanked by pointed arched moulded doorways with decorative panelled doors of c1920 under a moulded frieze; vestry to rear; to S a piscina and 3 bay pointed arched sedilia. Fittings are of very high quality throughout and mostly dated and commemorative. Font in baptistry bay W is octagonal, pink marble on a stone base with deep red marble colonettes and decorative cover, by Halliday 1915. Pulpit 1913 has decorative red sandstone base, carved wood panels and stone steps with wrought iron and brass railings; lectern a brass eagle of 1913. Six bay choir stalls N and S are intricately carved, each with a commemorative plaque mostly to the dead of World War I. Organ by Nicholson originally in Worcester Cathedral. Stained glass E window of Christ in Majesty in brilliant colours dated 1927 by Karl Parsons is regarded as his best work; windows in Lady Chapel by L C Evetts 1964; other glass, and former E window, is pale pastel quarries.  

Listed primarily for the special interest of its interior including its fittings particularly the stained glass E window.