| St John the Baptist Church | |
|---|---|
 View from Church Street | |
  Location within Cardiff | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Perpendicular Gothic |
| Location | Cardiff, Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°28′50.59″N3°10′42.13″W / 51.4807194°N 3.1783694°W /51.4807194; -3.1783694 |
| Construction started | c. 1460s |
St John the Baptist Church is a Grade Ilisted parish church inCardiff, Wales. Other thanCardiff Castle, it is the only medieval building in thecity centre.
Black's Picturesque Guide through Wales (1851) described St John's as "an ancient and finely proportioned edifice, with a noble quadrangular tower, surmounted by pierced battlements and four open gothic pinnacles... It is justly admired, and forms a conspicuous feature in every view of the town."[1] The same remains true today, with good views of the church from Church Street, Trinity Street and Working Street in the city centre.
John Newman, in hisGlamorgan volume of thePevsner Buildings of Wales series, describes the pinnacled west tower as a "magnificent marker".[2] At a height of over 40 metres[3] the tower is in four stages, faced in grey limestone ashlar with details in buff colouredDundry stone.[2]
The church was built in 1180 as a chapel of ease for the largerSt Mary's Church, itself founded byBenedictine monks fromTewkesbury Abbey. Originally constructed ofblue Lias, aJurassic stone with layers of fossilised shells, it was sourced fromAberthaw. The walls were then originally dressed with freestone - limestone sourced fromDundry.[4]
St John's was sacked during a rebellion ofOwain Glyndŵr in 1404.[5] The church was rebuilt in the second half of the 15th century[5] and given a perpendicular tower with a peal of ten bells. Today it still has a crown of openwork battlements, reminiscent of churches in theWest Country of England, and is dated c. 1490 because of the similar Jasper Tower ofLlandaff Cathedral which was built at this time.[2]
After the foundations of St Mary's were destroyed by theBristol Channelflood of 1607, the two churches were worked as a dual-location parish until all main services were moved to St John in 1620.
In 1843, the2nd Marquess of Bute paid for the construction of theChurch of St Mary and St Stephen inBute Street as a permanent replacement for St Mary's.[6] This allowed the reconstruction of St John, with extensions to the church made in 1886–1897 usingcarboniferous limestone quarried fromCulverhouse Cross. The churchyard wall was also rebuilt, using original Lias mixed with red sandstone in the walls, topped withcoping stones ofDevonian sandstones from theForest of Dean.[4]
In 1851 the Cardiff firm of Messrs. Thomas &Norris were engaged for repewing of St John's with the work to be completed by Christmas that year.[7]
St John's stained glass windows date from circa 1855, in the north chapel, with references to theBute family. Those in the north inner aisle date to 1869, byMorris & Co, with a top row of apostles designed byWilliam Morris himself.[2]
The church was increased in width with outer aisles added to St John's in 1889 and 1891. The old aisle windows were re-set and all the new building was re-surfaced with Sweldon limestone.[2]
The graveyard, already full, was divided by a new public pathway in the 1890s connecting Working Street withCardiff Central Market. As part of the agreement for the new path,Cardiff Corporation agreed to take responsibility for the graveyard south of the path. This later becameSt John's Gardens.[8] The path is still owned by the church and is closed everyGood Friday. Brass numbers on the path mark the location of graves and family tombs.[8]
In 1952 St John's became a Grade Ilisted building,[9] of exceptional architectural and historical interest.
The church serves as the priory church for Wales of theOrder of Saint John.
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The church's current organ was built in 1894 by"Father" Henry Willis. It was restored in 2005 by David Wells of Liverpool, funded by private donations and the Heritage Lottery Fund.[10] The completion of the restoration was marked with a concert byThomas Trotter, attended by theLord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan andLord Mayor of Cardiff.[11] In 2013 theBritish Institute of Organ Studies awarded it a Grade I Historic Organ Certificate, as an organ of exceptional interest.[12]
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We hear with great satisfaction that the tender of Messrs Thomas and Norris for repewing this church has been taken. The committee of the management met on Wednesday last, and out of three tenders that were sent in accepted that of the above respectable firm, as it was £95 less than one of the two, and £101 4s. 4d. less than the other. The whole of the work is to be completed and the church reopened for Divine Service before Christmas under heavy forfeitures.
51°28′51″N3°10′42″W / 51.48072°N 3.17837°W /51.48072; -3.17837
