St Catharine, Baglan, Glamorgan, Wales - geograph

St Catharine's Church is the mother church of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Baglan in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

, South Wales. The church is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

(listed 1 September 1976), built between 1875 and 1882, at the expense of Griffith Llewellyn (1802–1888), then owner of nearby Baglan Hall (now demolished). It was consecrated by the incumbent Bishop of Llandaff, Alfred Ollivant, in 1882, shortly before the latter's death. Images of Griffith Llewellyn and Alfred Ollivant appear as headstops at the entrance door. The church was constructed in the Decorated Gothic style, and dressed with

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard wa ...

, Llandaff's diocesan architect, who also worked on the restoration of

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf) is an Anglican cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Pet ...

, was heavily involved in the design project, although the building work was superintended by a local architect named John Jones. It replaced the older St Baglan's Church, a pre-Norman building that was largely destroyed by a fire in 1954. The interior uses Quarella stone, Forest of Dean sandstone and "Penarth"

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

to create a polychromatic effect. The chancel is decorated with bands of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

and has a marble floor inlaid with Italian

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

tiles. A brass memorial plaque commemorates Griffith Llewellyn and his wife Madelina (née Grenfell), both of whom are buried in the churchyard, close to the ruins of the original

Saint Baglan Saint Baglan was a 6th-century hermit who lived at Baglan in Wales. Life Baglan is said, on doubtful evidence, to have been a Breton prince, the son of Ithel Hael. He studied at Saint Illtud's monastic school at Llanilltud Fawr ( Llantwit Maj ...

's church, which is also listed. Stained glass windows in the church include designs by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

(St Cecilia with Musical Angels) and

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

(Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St John), as well as a Celtic Studios design installed in 1972.

As film location

Scenes from the 1997 film ''

Twin Town A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

'' were filmed at St Catharine's.

References

External links

*
Artwork at St Catharine's Church, Baglan
{{coord, 51.6150, N, 3.8029, W, source:wikidata, display=title Baglan, St Catharine Churches completed in 1882 1882 establishments in Wales Baglan John Prichard buildings

As film location

References

Further reading

External links