Eglwys Dewi Sant (''St David's Church'', though originally dedicated to

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

) is a Grade II listed

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

building in the centre of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is the only church in the

Diocese of Llandaff The Diocese of Llandaff is an Anglican (Church in Wales) diocese that traces its roots to pre-Reformation times as heir of a Catholic bishopric. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Pet ...

to conduct its services exclusively in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

Location

The church is situated in the centre of a tree-lined oval green and is the focus of St Andrew's Crescent, just north of the city centre.

History

St Andrew's Crescent was laid out as a formal space in the 1850s by the trustees of the

Bute Bute or BUTE may refer to: People * Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute * Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords * Lucian Bute (born ...

Estate, with the intention of having a church at its centre. In 1859, architects

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 ...

and John Pollard Seddon (working as Prichard & Seddon) came up with a design with a wide

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 ...

and a crossing steeple. John Newman describes the resulting church, dedicated to

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

, as a "rather unimpressive building". It was completed and consecrated in 1863 but had been reduced in ambition and cost.

Alexander Roos Alexander Roos ( – 30 June 1881) was an Italian-born British architect and urban planner. He was the architect to the Bute Estates in South Wales, for which he designed many buildings and laid out several areas of Cardiff. Early life Alexan ...

, the Bute architect, had taken over in 1862. Transepts and vestries by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was bo ...

, as well as porches on either side, were added in 1884–1886. In 1856 the Marchioness of Bute also built a Welsh-language church in Tyndall Street, close to the new

Cardiff Docks Cardiff Docks () is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coalfield, South Wales coal, the Po ...

, but because of the changing demographics by 1870 the church was providing services exclusively in English. Though other churches provided some Welsh services, in 1889 a new Welsh-language church hall, Capel Dewi Sant, was constructed at Howard Gardens to the east of the town centre. A new church, Eglwys Dewi Sant, was opened next door in 1891. The church provided services to the Welsh-speaking community for 50 years, until it was severely damaged in the

Cardiff Blitz The Cardiff Blitz (); refers to the bombing of Cardiff, Wales during World War II. Between 1940 and the final raid on the city in March 1944 approximately 2,100 bombs fell, killing 355 people. Cardiff Docks became a strategic bombing targe ...

. By 1954, St Andrew's Church in St Andrew's Crescent was suffering from a dwindling congregation as local houses were being converted into offices. It closed and its congregation moved to St Teilo's Church,

Cathays Cathays ( ; standardised ; sometimes , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is densely populated and contains many Victorian ter ...

. The congregation of Eglwys Dewi Sant took the opportunity to move to St Andrew's, which was reconsecrated as Eglwys Dewi Sant on 1 November 1956. Eglwys Dewi Sant church was designated in 1975 as a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church received a £100,000 grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

in 2009, to replace the failing roof.

Services and events

To mark the church's 60th anniversary, in June 2017 Eglwys Dewi Sant held a flower festival, with more than half (£3600) of the proceeds being donated to

Marie Curie Cancer Care Marie Curie is a registered charitable organization, charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides hospice care and support for anyone with an illness they are likely to die from, and those close to them, and campaigns for better su ...

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.eglwysdewisant.org.uk/ Cardiff, Dewi Sant Cardiff, Dewi Sant Dewi Sant Welsh language Welsh churches dedicated to St David