History
The town of Aberystwyth developed around the England in the High Middle Ages, Norman Aberystwyth Castle, castle. Four churches have stood on the site. In the 15th century a church dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, St Mary was constructed between the castle and the sea. This church, in ruins by 1748, and its short-lived successor, were replaced by a third church constructed in 1829-1833 by Edward Haycock Sr. Haycock was commissioned by William Edward Powell. a local landowner and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Ceredigion (UK Parliament constituency), Cardiganshire from 1816 until shortly before his death in 1854. Powell was made High Sheriff of Cardiganshire, High Sheriff in 1810 and Lord Lieutenant of Cardiganshire in 1817. He lived at Nanteos Mansion, Nanteos and developed much of Aberystwyth in the 1820s; including Laura Place, Aberystwyth, Laura Place which fronts the present church. By the later 19th century, the accelerating development of Aberystwyth as a seaside resort brought calls for a larger, and more impressive church. A later William Powell donated further land at Laura Place for the building of a new church in the 1880s. Powell commissioned designs for the new structure from ''Thomas Nicholson (architect), Nicholson & Son'' of Hereford and the present church was built between 1886-1890. The west vestry is all that remains of Haycock's church, This fragment is a Listed building, Grade II listed building. ''Cambrian News, The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard'' celebrated the opening of the new church on 3 October 1890, congratulating "all those who desire to see the town beautified, or who think that a building devoted to the highest purpose should be of the best that human beings can devise and reasonably provide". Further work was carried out on the development of the church in the first half of the 20th century. Major repairs were undertaken to the church roof in the 21st century, following storm damage from Cyclone Dirk. St Michael's remains an active parish church in the Evangelicalism, Evangelical tradition. Services are regularly held. In the late 20th/early 21st centuries, the church claimed the largest Anglican congregation in Wales. The church is administered by the List of Archdeacons of Cardigan, Archdeaconry of Cardigan within the Diocese of St Davids.Architecture
The "large and prosperous church" is built to a three-nave plan, with a vestry and a West tower. A planned spire was never built. The construction materials are Yorkstone, York sandstone rubble and Slate industry, Westmoreland slate roofs. The style is Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival, drawing on English Gothic architecture#Decorated Gothic, English Decorated Gothic. Thomas Lloyd, Julian Orbach and Robert Scourfield, in their ''Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion'' volume in the Pevsner Architectural Guides, Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, consider it was "old-fashioned", even at the time of its construction. The interior is faced with Bath stone, Bath limestone and decorated with banding in a contrasting red sandstone. It contains a chancel rood screen by W. D. Caröe dating from the early 20th century. Carved panels in a memorial chapel at the front of the church commemorate the dead of Aberystwyth from the First World War, First and Second World Wars. The chapel was constructed in 1992 and involved the moving of the rood screen. The stained glass is mainly by Alfred Octavius Hemming, Alfred Hemming, although the East window is the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne. St Michael's is a Listed building, Grade II listed building.Gallery
Notes
References
Sources
* * * * * * * * *External links
* {{Commons category-inline, St Michael's Church, Aberystwyth