St Eleth's Church, Amlwch
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St Eleth's Church, Amlwch is a parish church built in the
Neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
in 1800 in
Amlwch Amlwch (; ) is a port town and community in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. As well as Amlwch town and Amlwch Port, other settlements within the c ...
, a town on the island of
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
in north Wales. It stands on the site of earlier buildings, with the first church here said to have been established by St Elaeth (or Eleth) in the 6th century. Increasing prosperity in the town through copper mining during the 18th century led to the construction of a new church to serve the growing population. The church is still used for services within the
Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...
, and is one of four churches in the parish of Amlwch. It is a
Grade II* 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 ...
, a designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", because it is a "substantially Neo-classical church retaining much of its original architectural character".


History and location

The first church in the area was reputedly established in the 6th century by
Elaeth Elaeth (sometimes recorded as Eleth) was a Christian king and poet in Britain in the 6th century who is venerated as a saint. After losing his territory in the north of Britain, he retreated to Anglesey, north Wales, where he lived at a monastery ...
, or Eleth. He was a ruler from northern Britain who fled to
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
in north Wales when ousted from power, settling at St Seiriol's monastery at
Penmon Penmon is a promontory, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The name comes from cy, pen (which can mean "head", "end" ...
. Amlwch grew and became increasingly prosperous during the 18th century after copper mining began at nearby
Parys Mountain Parys Mountain ( cy, Mynydd Parys) is located south of the town of Amlwch in north east Anglesey, Wales. It is the site of a large copper mine that was extensively exploited in the late 18th century. Parys Mountain is a mountain in name only, bei ...
in 1768. As a result, the church became too small. Planning for a replacement church began in 1787 when Thomas Williams, "the Copper King", offered £600 (approximately £ in present-day terms). The Copper Mines Company provided the majority of the money required for the new church;
Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge (13 January 166330 August 1743), of Beaudesert, Staffordshire, and West Drayton, Middlesex, was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1695 until 171 ...
, and the Reverend Edward Hughes (a co-owner of the mines) also made donations. Work eventually got underway and the church, designed by the architect
James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...
, was built and consecrated in 1800. Different figures for the cost of construction are given by two 19th-century writers: in 1833,
Angharad Llwyd Angharad Llwyd (15 April 1780 – 16 October 1866) was a Welsh antiquary and a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. She is generally considered one of the most important collectors and copiers of manuscripts of the period. Biography ...
said that the cost was £4,000 (approximately £ in present-day terms) but in 1849, Samuel Lewis stated it to have been £2,500 (approximately £ in present-day terms). The new church was constructed on the same site as earlier buildings, set back from the road on the east side of Queen Street in the town centre. Some internal alterations were made in 1867 under Henry Kennedy, the architect of the
Diocese of Bangor The Diocese of Bangor is a diocese of the Church in Wales in North West Wales. The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and the western part of Montgomeryshire. History The diocese in the Welsh kingd ...
:
tracery Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...
was added to the windows, a
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
arch and
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...
s inserted, and the galleries removed. Restoration took place in 1999 and 2000 under the architect Adam Voelcker, when a gallery at the west end, a
baptistry In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
and meeting rooms were added. The church is still used for services as part of the
Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...
. It is in the parish of Amlwch, which has three other churches in the surrounding area ( St Eilian, Llaneilian; St Gwenllwyfo, Llanwenllwyfo; and St Tyfrydog, Llandyfrydog). As of 2012, the
priest in charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...
is H. V. Jones. The parish is in the
deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
of Twrcelyn, the
archdeaconry An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
of Bangor and the Diocese of Bangor.


Architecture and fittings

The predominant style of the church is Neo-classical, although there are some
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
elements. It is built from local stone, with courses of rubble and
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
dressings; the roof is made of
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
. There is a tower at the centre of the west end, which houses a clock and a bell-chamber behind large arched windows; it has a
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
with pinnacles at each corner. There are two bells, one dated 1687 and the other dated 1820. The arched doorway is set into the tower, with a circular window (an
oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...
) above it; the tracery in this window was added in the 19th century. Inside, the division of the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
from the narrow
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
was carried out in the 19th century through the addition of a chancel arch and creation of a chapel at the east end. Arcades were also added in the nave, to form aisles to either side. The inside of the roof is plastered. The east window contains 19th-century stained glass. There are memorial stones, mostly from the previous church on the site. The organ is 19th-century by Bevington and is housed in a gallery at the west end that was added in the restoration in 1999 and 2000. The font dates from 1900. Outside the church, the large
lychgate A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English ''lic'', corpse), also ''wych gate'', is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style ch ...
at the west of the churchyard dates from the early 19th century. Inside the churchyard, the gravestones have been moved to the side, possibly for ease of maintenance.


Assessment

The church is a Grade II*
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 ...
– the second-highest of the three grades of listing, designating "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". It was given this status on 25 October 1951, and has been listed because it is "a substantially Neo-classical church retaining much of its original architectural character."
Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
(the
Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
body responsible for the built heritage of Wales) notes that the "lightness of its Victorian restoration left the original fabric and much of the detail intact, and traces changing attitudes to church layout and style without obliterating the character of the original." It also states that the church is historically important for its links with copper mining. The lychgate has also been given listed building status at the lowest level, Grade II (for buildings of national importance and special interest), because it is a "good early example" of a 19th-century lychgate of "characteristic local type" and because it forms a group with the adjacent church. The 19th-century Welsh antiquarian
Angharad Llwyd Angharad Llwyd (15 April 1780 – 16 October 1866) was a Welsh antiquary and a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. She is generally considered one of the most important collectors and copiers of manuscripts of the period. Biography ...
described the church as a "spacious handsome structure", and Samuel Lewis (a writer of
topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
guides in the 19th century) described the church in very similar words as a "spacious and handsome structure"; he particularly noted the "lofty square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles." A 2009 guide to the buildings of north Wales describes the 19th-century alterations by Kennedy as "egregious", but says that the interior "possesses considerable grace", with the columns of the arcades being "touched by a breath of classicism". A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey describes it as "a good example of a tastefully restored church", and a "spacious, high sided building with an impressive tower". It also comments that its shape is not typical of churches on the island.


References


External links


Photographs of the church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amlwch, Saint Eleth Churches completed in 1800 Grade II* listed churches in Anglesey 18th-century Church in Wales church buildings Church in Wales church buildings Saint Eleth