St Mary, Llansawel
St Mary, Llansawel
St Mary’s is a Grade II Church in Wales parish church on Church Street, Briton Ferry (Llansawel), Neath Port Talbot, in the Diocese of Llandaff and the Afon Nedd Ministry Area.
- Location
- Llansawel, Glamorgan
- Country
- Wales
- County
- Glamorgan
- City / town
- Llansawel
- Address
- Church Street, Llansawel, Glamorgan, SA11 2SG
- Postcode
- SA11 2SG
- Built
- 1891–92, retaining an earlier tower; site possibly recorded 1254
- Architect
- H. Francis Clarke of Briton Ferry, supervised by J. P. Seddon
- Denomination
- Church in Wales
- Dedication
- Mary
- Diocese
- Llandaff
- Parish
- Afon Nedd Ministry Area
- Grade
- II
- Style
- Gothic
- Materials
- Snecked rock-faced stone with brick dressings to openings; concrete pantile roof replacing slate; earlier rubble tower
- Grid reference
- SS 735 942
- Opening hours
- We hold open days a few times a year but access to the church can be granted at any time by contacting the warden, enquiries for access can be sent to 07804 311579.
- Access
- Ramp or level access available on request. Non-accessible toilets in church. Level access to the main areas
Overview
Cadw records a church of 1891–92 by H. Francis Clarke of Briton Ferry under the supervision of J. P. Seddon, built at a cost of £1,800 to replace an earlier church of which the tower was retained. Nineteenth-century views show that older church in a Gothic-survival style of the seventeenth or early eighteenth century. The foundation may be earlier: the site is possibly first mentioned in 1254, and Cadw notes that the font and the base of a churchyard cross are the only features that can belong to such a date.
The present Gothic church has nave and chancel under one roof, north and south aisles under outshut roofs, a south porch and the retained south tower. Coflein describes snecked rock-faced stone with brick dressings and a concrete pantile roof replacing the original slate. The three-stage tower is probably seventeenth-century rubble with a battered base; the shadow of the earlier nave is visible on its east face. Inside, timber nave arcades run four bays on the south and seven on the north, continuous with a west church hall. Cadw lists the building for its wooden arcaded interior and stained glass, and for the earlier tower.