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.
The town of Conwy is to be found 72km west of Chester, 27km east of Bangor (the A55 North wales Expressway now by passes the town), 309km north of Cardiff via Chester and 316km northwest of London via Chester. The church is to be found in the centre of the town in a large churchyard enclosed by buildings to castle Street, High Street, Church Street and Rose Hill Street with the result that the churchyard is reached up one of four entry alleys
Reference
AA Route Planner
OS Map 115
Cadw Listing Notice.
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.
It would appear that the church is the surviving part of the Cistercian Abbey founded here in 1192 with the church dating from 1197. It was damaged during the Edwardian conquest in 1282 and gained parish status when the new borough of Conwy was created in 1284. The west front is all that remains of the C13 fabric. Most of the rest of the church dates from early C14 with alterations in £15 and C16 and restoration in C19 – Sir Gilbert Scott carried out restoration in 1872 when the clerestory in the nave was added and new roofs provided and the windows restored. Further works were carried out in 1878 by John Oldrid Scott and Harold Hughes furnished the north aisle chapel in 1919 to 1921.The vestry was extended in 1925.
Buildings of Wales –Gwynedd 2009
Cadw Listings Notice
A description of the exterior of the church and the main features of the churchyard.
Built largely in the early English and Decorated style St Mary’s church has an aisled nave with a porch, a south transept, lower chancel, a north vestry and a west tower. It was constructed of rubble stone now augmented with C19 freestone dressings and beneath a slate roof behind gables on moulded kneelers. The brad west tower is of three stages and has an angles buttress in the lower stages, it is partially obscured by the south west turret and the parish room attached to the north side. The west front has a long-chamfered offset above the door that extends across the north aisle showing that the abbey church was aisled (see above). The doorway has half octagonal piers with fine early Gothic foliage. Despite being a doorway, it does not hold a door suggesting that it was a reused entry into the abbey chapter house. The tower is of three stages and the two-light belfry openings have 4-centred heads and hood moulds. Below the parapets each face has a round clock face painted blue by Fairer of London. These are in freestone surround with hood moulds continuous with a string course at the base of the embattled parapets.
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.
Entry is through the north porch which has stone benches and a re-set medieval cross slab in the east wall. The north doorway is pointed with C20 boarded doors. The interior is plastered and the windows, including the clerestory have freestone rere arches. In the nave there is a three-bay set of early C14 arcades of octagon piers on square bases, with simple capitals and pointed arches with 2 orders of hollow chamfered, and hood moulds with large head stops. It has a 7-bay corbelled arched-braced roof with windbraces, and subsidiary trusses behind the purlins – similarly in the aisles. Only division between the nave and chancel is a lower cusped brace with struts and the chancel floor has re-set grave slabs, in the sanctuary there is richer tile work, now C19 copies on the floor the C14 original tiles have been re-set on the sanctuary wall. Sir Richard pole, the constable of Conwy castle between 1488 and 1504 has his badge (an eagle’s claw grabbing a fish) on the imposing 5-bay rood screen, each outer bay has a panelled dado under quatrefoil friezes below which are deep ribbed covings and pendants. The chancel side has two additional supports. The central bay has double wooden gates, with an upper tier of linenfold panelling. The choir stalls are contemporary with the screen. There is a C20 communion rail in wood dating from 1960 and made by Thompson of Kilburn and in the north aisle is a C20 war memorial chapel with a screen in a simplified Tudor Gothic style. At the west end of the nave is a Tudor Gothic hymn-book stall of the C20. The perpendicular font is on a stepped plinth, it appears to have ben moved from here but there is an illustration of it in its present position in 1835. The intricate carvings are badly weathered but can still be appreciated. It has a lead lined octagonal bowl with quatrefoils and rosettes. An octagonal pedestal is surrounded by a detached arcade of cusped arches and buttresses. The stained glass: ‘Ascension. with the Four Evangelists’. 1870; ‘An Angel greets the three women at the empty tomb’, by Cox& Sons, 1870; ‘The Last Supper’, by Mayer & Co, 1889; ‘Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden’ 1883; ‘William Morgan & William Salesbury’c1936; ‘The Virgin May’, by Morris & Co, c1915; ‘The Church of St M Margaret’, by Morris & Co, c1915. There are two bells: one cast in 1878 by John Warner and sons, the other cast in1510 by John Seliok of Nottingham
Stained Glass in Wales
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.