The Church of St Denys is an Anglican church in the suburb of

Lisvane Lisvane ( cy, Llys-faen) is an affluent community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, located north of the city centre. Lisvane is generally considered to be one of the wealthiest residential areas of Wales, with an average house ...

, Cardiff. The church is ancient in origin, though the present building dates largely from the nineteenth century.

Dedication

Denys is not a reference to Denis, the patron saint of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The name is a locally created corruption of Dionysius, the Latin name used by Saint Isan.

Early history

The precise date of the church's founding is unknown, though it is thought to date from around the same period as St Isan's in nearby Llanishen (which chose to dedicate itself to Isan's Celtic name), which would give an estimated date of around the 6th Century. The founder of the religious presence in the area is also unknown. It has been speculated that monks from Llandough, or possibly an influential landowner was responsible, though this is conjectural since no historical evidence concerning the church has survived from this period. The original structure would probably have been built of impermanent materials, as was common practice at this time (St Isan's is believed to have also began life in this form). The stone churches which replaced such constructions did not begin to proliferate until the Norman period, during which the church was a chapel of ease to St Mary's in Cardiff, which was still a separate and quite distant town.

Later Rebuilds

The present building dates mostly from the 14th century. The church fell increasingly into decay in later centuries. By the 1840s, it was all but derelict, with a tiny congregation. Having passed centuries as a little-changed village, Lisvane began to expand in the later 19th century, and after 1861, the church's fortunes began to revive as Lisvane began to develop into an affluent suburb. In 1878 it was decided to restore the church, and it was comprehensively refurbished by architect

Edwin Seward Edwin Seward (1853–1924) was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales. Biography Born in Somerset, Seward came to Cardiff aged 16 and studied at the School of Art. He began work as an assistant to architect G. E. Robinson. Seward was one of th ...

. Further modifications occurred in the 1920s and 30s, and in 1979, the whole building was reordered and enlarged, with the altar re-sited and the choir housed in the old

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

. The only surviving Norman elements of the building are the walls of the tower and the southern doorway.

Listing

The church gained Grade II* Listed status in 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lisvane, Saint Denys Grade II* listed churches in Cardiff Church in Wales church buildings 12th-century church buildings in Wales