The name or dedication of the church.
This identifies the church type. Most churches are parish churches which means they serve a specific parish or area. Other types such as chapel, daughter and mission are mostly historic designations as many are now also parish churches. Please note that former churches are no longer used for worhsip and may be in private ownership.
A unique identification number given to every church.
The name of the diocese in which the church is located.
The name of the archdeaconry in which the church is located.
This is the legal name of the parish as given by the Church Commissioners.
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There are 3 levels of listing: Grade I, II* & II. The majority of buildings which are of special interest are Grade II. A much smaller number of particularly important buildings are listed as Grade II*. Buildings of exceptional interest (approx 2% of the total number of listed buildings) are Grade I.
Ancient monuments and archaeological remains of national importance are protected by law. Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service is responsible for compiling a schedule (list) of these ancient monuments, some of which can be found in churches and churchyards. Examples can include churchyard crosses and the archaeological remains of previous churches or buildings on the site.
There are three National Parks in Wales: Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire Coast and Brecon Beacons. These protect 20 percent of the land in Wales, including precious landscapes, habitats, villages and heritage sites.
There are over 500 conservation areas in Wales. They are designated by local planning authorities for their special architectural and historic interest.
The Buildings at Risk register is managed by Cadw (the Welsh Government’s historic environment service) in order to identify the number and type of listed buildings at risk in Wales.
It is often extremely difficult to determine a precise date of construction for a church as many have been extensively altered over time. Church Heritage Cymru therefore shows a date range within which a church is believed to have been constructed. The dates are as follows: Early Medieval (pre 1066), Medieval (post 1066 to 1540), Post Medieval (1540 to 1837), Victorian/Pre WWI (1837 to 1914) and Modern (post 1914).
This is a very brief summary of the church's main features. More detailed nformation can be found in the other fields and pages (tabs) in this database.
Useful information is displayed here for people wishing to visit the church. This may include things like opening hours, catering & toilet facilities, parking, etc.
If the church has its own website the details will be displayed here.
Any further sources of information for the church will be listed here (eg. links to other historic databases).
This is the Ordnance Survey (OS) reference for the location of the church. Some locations will be approximate as this data is continuously being refined and updated.
This is the name of the Local Authoirity within which the church is located.
This describes how the church relates to its immediate and wider environment, sometimes called its setting. It describes how the church contributes to its landscape or townscape and how these things collectively contribute to the character of the area.
Kidwell is by-passed by the A484 being some 15km south of Carmarthen and 15km northwest of Llanelli. The church is beside the river on Lady Street.
Reference
AA Route Planner OS Map 159
This is a description of the ground plan of the church.
If known, the dimensions (measurements) of the church ground plan will be displayed here.
If the footrprint (area) of the church is known, it will be displayed here.
A description of the history and archaeology of the church and its site.
Possibly on a clas site with a church dedicated to St Cadog. Between 1107 and 1115 the church was granted to the Benedictine Abbey at Sherbourne by Roger, Bishop of Salisbury and Lord of Kidwelly, (Sherborne was the seat of the diocese before its removal to Salisbury). The main priory buildings are thought to have been located to the west of the church and its charter was issued from Roger’s seat, Kidwelly castle. John Pecham, Archbishop of Canterbury visit the Priory in 1284 and found its affair in such disorder that he sent the prior back to Sherborne. The Abbot of Sherborne sent the Prior back and was rebuked by the Archbishop who threaten to ex-communicate the Abbott unless he punished the offending prior and installed a new one. At Dissolution the patronage of the church passed to the crown. (A late medieval coffin lid was found on the north side of the church in 1846). The church is believed to have been burnt down in C13, during the monastic period the nave (probably twice its current length) was the town’s church while the chancel was the priory’s church. The chancel, nave and transepts date to the midC14 and have decorative work including motifs such as ballflowers, wave mouldings and tablet-flower (characteristic of works commissioned by Henry de Gower, Bishop of St David’s 1328-1347. The south porch may have been contemporary but has been since rebuilt. The tower is one of the earliest in the region dates to c1400 and the spire is contemporary. Lightening has hit the spire and tower causing damage in 1481, 1681, 1854 and 1884. The original font was shattered by falling masonry in 1658. The church was restored in in 1884 by Middleton & Prothero.
Buildings of Wales –Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion 1994 Coflein NPRN 301847 Abbeys & Priories of Medieval Wales Janet Burton and Kate Stöber 2015
A description of the exterior of the church and the main features of the churchyard.
The church in Kidwelly is the largest church in south-west Wales and has an exceptional broach spire and fine Decorated Gothic detail. There is a 4-bay nave, a 3-bay chancel, a vestry and a south porch together with the 3-story tower with spire to the north of the west bay of the nave. It was built with local rubblestone similar to that used at the castle together with a variety of stone dressings. The porch contains pebbly Brownstones and also sandstone dressings tentatively thought to be from the Senni Beds. A replacement limestone window dressing exhibits crustacean burrows typical of Bath Stone as well as surface patches of a yellow/orange lichen common on limestones. A grave slab in the wall contains fossil brachiopods and closely resembles Snowdrop marble. (Due to the Carreg Cennen Disturbance a similar stone was quarried locally). On the southeast corner of the church there are Forest Pennant sandstones and on the east elevation there is a large window with original Sutton stone jambs and the mullions and tracery are in Doulting stone limestone, this window has a small square block of Dundry stone which is built into the wall and which matches one on the opposite wall of the church. At the base of the tower is a yellowish, pebbly Brownstone in the buttress.
Reference Buildings of Wales –Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion 1994 Coflein NPRN 301847 Welsh Stone Forum National Museum of Wales Number 15
Information about any noteable architects, artists, people, or events associated with the church.
Information about any important features and building fabric.
If known, a list of the church's major building material/s will be displayed here.
Any renewable energy systems the church is using will be listed here.
This section gives a general description of the interior of the church. Further details of any important internal fixtures and fittings will be listed below.
The interior is impressive and would have been more so when the nave was twice its current length. The nave has a wagon roof of 1885-9. The chancel arch and the transept arches have piers which are triple stepped with finely executed, quadrant-curved angles with small keeled stops. The were made with Old Red sandstone and Dundry stone giving an attractive polychromatic effect, the bottoms have been repaired with Forrest pennant sandstone. The chancel has an arch-braced roof similar to the porch roof and corbels remain from an earlier roof. A screen to a side chapel off the transept, is cut from closely compacted oolitic limestone as is the altar both of which probably have French provenance. The two Piscinas in the church have both been cut from pebbly Brownstones. In the north aisle is a low Gothic arch made from sandstone possibly from the Senni beds, however, the stone has decayed with what looks like stone crystallisation such that it might have been obtained from the od red sandstone outcrops at Ferryside. A niche over the south door once contained an alabaster figure of the virgin maryc1600 which was moved in the late 1860s and is now to be found under the west window. The font dates to 1887 and is of Caen stone with marble colonettes. The rare and well carved organ case with large cherub heads was made for St Mary’s Swansea in1762 by Thomas Warne. The heavy hexagonal pulpit is by W D Caröe in 1910. The altar reredos is made from oolite, it and the transept screen, the altar and the oak chancel fittings all date to c1963. The clock in the belfry replaced and earlier one and is late C19. The stained glass: ‘The Transfiguration with Saints’, Christopher Charles Powell, 1939; ‘Scenes from the Life of Christ with Apostles and Archangels’, Celtic Studios, designed by Howard martin, 1960; ‘Scenes from the Life of Christ’, Christopher Charles Powell, 1936; ‘ St Cecilia with Choristers’. There are six bells cast by Charles Carr in 1902.
Buildings of Wales –Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion 1994 Coflein NPRN 301847 Stained Glass in Wales A National Bell Register - George Dawson's Website - Homestead Welsh Stone Forum National Museum of Wales Number 15
Information about the church's important internal fixtures and fittings.
Information about the church's important moveable items and artworks.
A description of the ecology of the churchyard.
Information about the presence of bats in the church building or churchyard.
Records whether the church has been consecrated.
Records whether there have been burials in the churchyard.
Records whether the churchyard is still being used for burials.
Records whether there are any war graves in the churchyard.
Any important churchyard structures will be listed here.
Signifiance levels are set at high, medium and low.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship of the church to its surrounding area and helps place it within its wider landscape context.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the significance of the historic building fabric of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the historic significance of the interior of the church.
Significance defines what is special about a church. This could be architectural, archaeological, historical or liturgical. Here, it describes the relationship between the church and its community.